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CHRISTIAN  WAYS 
OF  SALVATION 


THE  MACMILLAN  COMPANY 

NEW  YORK  •  BOSTON  •  CHICAGO  •  DALLAS 
ATLANTA  •  SAN  FRANCISCO 

MACMILLAN  &  CO.,  Limited 

LONDON  •  BOMBAY  •  CALCUTTA 
MELBOURNE 

THE  MACMILLAN  CO.  OP  CANADA.  Ltd. 

TORONTO 


CHRISTIAN  WAYS  OF 
SALVATION 

t' 


Lectures  delivered  before 

AUBURN  THEOLOGICAL  SEMINARY,  AUBURN,  N.  Y. 

ON  THE  Russell  Foundation,  Easter  Week,  1932 


BY 

GEORGE  W.  RICHARDS,  D.D.,  LL.D. 

Professor  of  Church  History  in  the  Theological  Seminary  of  the  Reformed 
Church  in  the  United  States,  Lancaster,  Pa. 


iReto  9otk 

THE  MACMILLAN  COMPANY 

1923 


All  rig  hit  reserved 


PRINTED  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES  OF  AMERICA 


COPTBIGHT,  1923, 

Bt  the  MACMILLAN  COMPANY. 

Set  up  and  printed.  Published  March,  1923, 


Press  of 

J.  J.  Little  k  Ives  Company 
New  York,  U.  S.  A. 


TO 

GEORGE  BLACK  STEWART 


PRESIDENT  OF  AUBURN  THEOLOGICAL  SEMINARY 


PREFACE 


Portions  of  the  contents  of  this  book  were  presented 
in  a  course  of  six  lectures  before  the  Faculty  and  stu¬ 
dents  of  Auburn  Theological  Seminary.  It  was  not 
possible,  however,  in  the  allotted  time  to  deliver  the 
material  of  even  six  of  the  chapters.  I  have  enlarged 
each  original  chapter,  and  have  added  Chapter  IX. — 
^‘The  Way  of  the  Humanists’^;  Chapter  XII. — ^‘Con¬ 
clusions  on  the  Way  of  Salvation,  Continued”;  and 
Chapter  XIII. — “A  Credible  Creed.”  Notwithstand¬ 
ing  these  additions  I  feel  that  much  more  is  required 
for  a  complete  discussion  of  the  subject. 

When  I  chose  the  subject, — Christian  Ways  of 
Salvation, — it  was  not  my  purpose  to  define  and  to 
discuss  theories  of  the  atonement  that  have  been  ex¬ 
pounded  in  many  books,  pamphlets,  and  articles;  nor 
did  I  aim  to  describe  in  detail  the  various  methods  by 
which  the  work  of  salvation  is  carried  on  by  the 
churches.  I  tried,  rather,  to  set  forth  the  ideals  and 
principles  which  control  the  process  of  salvation,  as 
that  is  conceived  of  by  the  various  Pagan  and  Christian 
groups.  The  foremost  questions  are: — Whence  does 
salvation  come?  How  is  it  given?  How  is  it  appro¬ 
priated?  How  is  it  expressed  in  doctrine,  institutions, 
and  deed? 

I  am  convinced  that  the  answers  to  these  questions 
determine  the  conceptions  of  God,  of  Christ,  and  of 
the  Christian  life:  in  other  words,  changes  in  soteri- 


Vll 


Vlll 


PREFACE 


ology  require  corresponding  modifications  in  theology, 
christology,  and  ethics;  yes,  also,  in  the  spirit  and 
form  of  worship,  in  the  mode  of  government  and  dis¬ 
cipline,  and  in  the  motives  and  manner  of  Christian 
living.  Indeed,  the  different  Christian  churches  have 
arisen  because  the  founder  of  each  was  convinced  that 
he  had  discovered  a  way  of  salvation  truer  to  the  way 
of  Jesus  and  the  apostles  than  the  way  of  any  of  the 
existing  churches.  The  fundamental  difference  be¬ 
tween  Catholicism  and  Protestantism,  as  well  as  that 
between  the  various  branches  of  Protestantism,  is  to 
be  found  in  the  way  of  salvation.  If  there  could  be 
agreement  on  that  point,  it  would  not  be  difficult  to 
harmonize  the  other  differences.  In  this  view  of  the 
formative  significance  of  the  idea  of  salvation,  I  was 
confirmed  by  Bartlett  and  Carlyle  in  their  recent  work, 
^^Christianity  in  History,”  the  controlling  thesis  of 
which  is  expressed  in  the  words :  religion  is  moulded 

by  its  idea  of  salvation.  It  is  in  this  that  continuity  of 
type  mainly  consists  and  may  be  brought  to  the  test.” 

It  is  my  purpose,  also,  to  present  a  point  of  view 
and  an  attitude  toward  the  fundamental  facts  of  the 
Christian  revelation,  the  experience  of  Christians,  and 
the  results  of  historical  and  scientific  scholarship,  ac¬ 
cording  to  which  one  may  be  soundly  evangelical  with¬ 
out  reverting  to  a  static,  intolerant  dogmatism,  or 
falling  into  a  destructive  and  equally  intolerant  radi¬ 
calism.  If  Christianity  is  the  power  that  saves  men, 
it  must  be  kept  free  from  the  blight  of  institutionalism 
and  officialism,  on  the  one  hand;  and  from  the  frost 
of  rationalism  and  self-dependent  humanism,  on  the 
other.  The  one  thing  that  ought  to  bind  Christians 
of  all  churches  into  a  common  fellowship  is  the  expe¬ 
rience  of  the  saving  power  of  God  through  Jesus 


PREFACE  ix 

Christ,  who  inspires  and  enables  men  to  live  and  labor 
for  his  Kingdom. 

In  so  comprehensive  a  survey  of  Pagan  and  Chris¬ 
tian  ways  of  salvation,  few  men  would  attempt  to  base 
all  their  conclusions  on  original  sources.  I,  at  least, 
profess  to  have  made  use,  in  a  number  of  the  chapters, 
of  the  most  recent  and  trustworthy  authorities.  In  the 
footnotes  I  have  mentioned  the  names  of  some  of  the 
authors  whose  books  and  articles  I  have  consulted.  I 
desire  especially  to  call  the  attention  of  the  reader  to 
Professor  Kilpatrick’s  articles,  in  Hastings’  ^Encyclo¬ 
pedia  of  Religion  and  Ethics,”  on  ^‘Salvation  (Chris¬ 
tian”  and  on  ^^Soteriology,”  respectively,  these  are  of 
unusual  excellence  and  were  most  helpful  to  me  in  the 
preparation  of  Chapter  III.  As  a  rule,  where  I  quote 
from  German  books,  I  am  responsible  for  the  English 
translation. 

For  valuable  suggestions  as  to  literary  form  and  for 
aid  in  the  reading  of  the  proof,  I  am  indebted  to  Pro¬ 
fessor  C.  Nevin  Heller,  Librarian  in  the  Theological 
Seminary  of  the  Reformed  Church  at  Lancaster,  Pa., 
and  to  my  Secretary,  the  Rev.  William  A.  Korn,  Ph.D., 
through  whose  patient  and  persevering  assistance  I  was 
enabled  to  prepare  the  manuscript  for  the  printer’s 
hands. 

Theological  Seminary, 

Lancaster,  Pa. 

January  5,  1923. 


CONTENTS 

I  PRE-CHRISTIAN  WAYS  OF  SALVATION 


CHAPTER 

1.  The  Quest  for  Salvation  . 

•  •  • 

PAGB 

3 

11. 

Amelioration  and  Redemption  . 

«  •  • 

22 

II  CHRISTIAN  WAYS  OF  SALVATION 

III. 

The  Way  of  Jesus . 

57 

IV. 

The  Ways  of  the  Apostles 

•  •  • 

83 

V. 

The  Ancient  Catholic  Way  . 

•  •  • 

116 

VI. 

The  Orthodox  Catholic  Way 

•  •  • 

138 

VII. 

The  Roman  Catholic  Way  . 

•  •  • 

148 

VIII. 

The  Evangelical  Ways — Luther- 
THERAN  Way . 

-The  Lu- 

176 

IX. 

The  Evangelical  Ways — Zwingli 
viN — The  Reformed  Way 

AND  Cal- 

•  •  • 

196 

X. 

The  Way  of  the  Humanists  . 

•  •  • 

221 

Ill  CONCLUSIONS 

XL 

Conclusions  on  the  Way  of  Salvation 

257 

XII. 

CoNCLUSIO]S(S  ON  THE  WaY  OF  SALVATION — 
Continued . 

281 

XIII. 

A  Credible  Creed . 

296 

CHRISTIAN  WAYS 
OF  SALVATION 


J 

! 

) 


i 


I 

PRE-CHRISTIAN  WAYS  OF 
SALVATION 


I 


PRE-CHRISTIAN  WAYS  OF 
SALVATION 

CHAPTER  I 

THE  QUEST  EOK  SALVATION 

The  idea  of  salvation  grew  apace  with  religion. 
Traces  of  it  are  found  in  the  earliest  stages  of  human 
life.  It  is  neither  a  passing  experience  of  savagery 
nor  a  refined  product  of  culture.  Gilbert  Murray^ 
says:  ‘^Religion,  even  in  the  narrow  sense,  is  always 
looking  for  Soteria,  for  escape,  for  some  salvation  from 
the  terror  to  come,  or  some  deliverance  from  the  body 
of  this  death.’’  Professor  Ellwood^  says:  ^Yhe  end 
of  all  religion  is  in  social  and  personal  salvation,  in 
help  over  the  difficulties  and  redemption  from  the 
evils  of  life.”  The  ways  of  salvation  vary  as  widely 
as  the  grades  of  culture  and  religion  from  primitive 
to  present  man.  The  variance  in  kind  and  degree 
becomes  clear  when  we  follow  the  evolution  of  rehgion 
from  its  lowest  to  its  highest  form. 

I 

In  its  earliest  stage  ^  religion  must  have  been  the 
reaction  of  primeval  man  to  the  universe  as  a  whole. 

^“The  Religion  of  a  Man  of  Letters,”  p.  6. 

*'‘The  Reconstruction  of  Religion,”  p.  37. 

*  Anthropologists  distinguish  seven  stages  in  the  evolution  of 
religion,  i.e.,  of  man’s  idea  of  the  divine,  namely:  manaism,  animism, 

3 


4 


CHRISTIAN  WAYS  OF  SALVATION 


The  impact  of  the  world  upon  him  and  his  response 
to  it  are  the  elemental  factors  of  religion.  This  stage 
may  have  been  as  many  millenniums  back  of  ‘‘belief 
in  spiritual  beings/^  which  Tylor  calls  the  essence  of 
religion,  as  the  Apostles’  Creed  is  in  advance  of  the 
first  ideas  of  spirits,  ghosts,  and  gods.  These  begin¬ 
nings  we  can  hardly  comprehend;  for  it  is  almost 
impossible  for  us  to  divest  ourselves  of  the  accumu¬ 
lated  heritage  of  prehistoric  and  historic  ages,  to 
transport  ourselves  into  the  dawn  of  time,  and  to 
“think  savage”  again. 

Yet,  to  have  even  a  vague  idea  of  his  religion,  of  the 
state  of  his  mind  when  he  first  faced  the  powers  of 
nature,  we  shall  have  to  roam  with  naked,  houseless, 
and  weaponless  man  through  forests  primeval,  over 
lake  and  fen,  by  seaside  and  upon  mountain-top;  to 
gaze  with  him  into  the  blinding  blaze  of  noon  and 
the  starlit  depths  of  night,  and  to  feel  the  thrill  that 
shot  through  his  frame  and  made  his  heart  beat  faster 
and  his  eye  glow  brighter.  In  circumstances  like  these 
religion  was  born  in  the  soul  of  man. 

We  may  call  it  a  thrill  in  the  presence  of  a  mystery; 
and  in  these  were  hid  all  the  possibilities  and  poten¬ 
cies  of  the  religions  of  the  ages.  There  were  then,  as 
now,  though  they  were  as  yet  unnamed  and  undefined, 
two  factors  in  religion,  the  divine  and  the  human, 
the  objective  and  the  subjective;  reduced  to  their 
lowest  terms,  the  one  may  be  called  a  mystery,  the 
other  an  emotion.  To  interpret  the  mystery  and  to 
express  the  emotion  is  the  religious  task  of  the  race. 

totemism,  ancestor  worship,  polytheism,  henotheism,  and  mono¬ 
theism.  These  stages  are  not  always  sharply  delimited,  but  often 
overlap  and  exist  side  by  side;  but  they  mark,  none  the  less, 
definite  grades  in  the  evolution  of  the  religious  consciousness.  See 
Ellwood,  ^‘The  Reconstruction  of  Religion,”  pp.  24,  48-50. 


5 


THE  QUEST  FOR  SALVATION 

The  later  definitions  of  religion  are  attempts  of 
theologians  and  philosophers  to  put  into  words  its 
essential  and  common  elements.  They,  of  course, 
presuppose  a  degree  of  spiritual  development  far  in 
advance  of  that  of  primitive  man.  Yet  they  point 
to  things  latent  in  the  earliest  thrill  and  mystery. 
Among  the  notable  definitions  we  shall  cite  the  follow¬ 
ing,  without  passing  judgment  upon  any  of  them: 
^^a  sense  of  absolute  dependence”  (Schleiermacher) ; 
“a  desire  which  manifests  itself  in  prayer,  sacrifice,  and 
faith”  (Feuerbach) ;  ^^a  sense  of  our  duties  as  based 
on  divine  law”  (Kant) ;  ^^a  faculty  of  the  mind  which 
enables  us  to  grasp  the  infinite  independently  of  sense 
and  reason”  (Max  Muller) ;  belief  in  spiritual 
beings”  (Tylor) ;  ^^a  universal  sociomorphism,  .  .  . 
the  sense  of  dependence  in  relation  to  the  wills  which 
primitive  man  places  in  the  universe”  (Guyau) ;  ^ 
^The  consciousness  of  the  highest  social  values” 
(E.  S.  Ames). 


II 

Ages  before  men  thought  of  the  mystery  as  spirits, 
helpful  or  harmful,  they  had  no  more  than  a  vague 
sense  of  power  above  and  about  them.  The  extraor¬ 
dinary  phenomena  that  awakened  wonder,  the  dust 
cloud,  gigantic  physical  strength,  bodily  abnormities 
like  epilepsy  or  deformity  of  limb,  the  ever-recurring 
mysteries  of  birth,  life,  death,  and  the  effect  of  certain 
liquors, — all  these  phenomena  were  ascribed  to  super¬ 
natural  power,  though  the  word  was  not  then  in 
use. 

*  Reinach,  ‘‘Orpheus,”  p.  2 ;  also  EUwood,  “The  Reconstruction  of 
Religion,”  pp.  46-48. 


CHRISTIAN  WAYS  OF  SALVATION 


e 

The  Malayans  called  it  mana;  ^  the  American 
Indians  manitou.  It  worked  in  the  spell  of  the  sorcerer, 
in  the  curse  and  the  blessing,  in  the  herbs  or  the 
crystals  of  the  medicine  man.  The  steam  rising  from 
a  hot  stone  sizzling  in  water,  the  hooting  owl  and 
the  howling  wolf  at  night,  were  manitou.  Wherever 
one  felt  a  shudder  or  a  thrill,  there  was  manitou.  It 
worked  everywhere,  entered  into  everything,  in  nature 
and  man.  Men  met  at  certain  places  and  times  and, 
with  the  aid  of  music  and  dance,  tried  to  control  the 
mysterious  force  for  their  benefit.  These  were  the 
first  religious  services,  held  under  the  open  sky,  in 
the  forest  gloom;  and  the  feehngs  of  the  heart 
were  wrapped  in  the  swaddling  clothes  of  savage 
words.® 

Time  came  when  men  animized  mana  and  turned 
it  into  spirits,  strange  beings, — part  Caliban,  part 
Ariel, — ^hiding  in  nooks  and  dells,  sporting  in  rippling 
brooks,  splashing  in  ocean  waves,  sighing  in  the  winds, 
riding  upon  clouds,  guiding  the  stars,  dwelling  in  the 
sun.  There  were  nymphs,  Nereids,  Oreads,  Dryads, 
Erinyes.  Some  were  friendly  and  others  hostile ;  some 


®  “Mana  ist  eine  iibernatiirliche  Kraft,  die  dem  Gebiet  des  Unsicht- 
baren  angehort,  aber  zugleich  als  eine  Art  Materie,  als  ein  Kraft- 
fluidum  aufgefasst  wird.”  (Mana  is  a  kind  of  supernatural  force 
belonging  to  the  realm  of  the  invisible,  but  is  at  the  same  time 
regarded  as  a  kind  of  material,  as  a  forceful  fluid.) — Tiele,  “Kom- 
pendium  der  Religionsgeschichte,”  p.  25,  4  Aufl. 

“It  is,  moreover,  becoming  increasingly  probable  that  the  earliest 
form  of  this  cosmic  sense  (if  so  I  may  call  it)  was  not  a  belief  in 
definite  and  manlike  ‘spirits,’  but  rather  a  feeling  for  that  indefiin- 
able,  impersonal,  all-pervading  power,  which  the  Iroquois  called 
orenda,  the  Algonquins  manitou,  the  Sioux  wakonda,  the  Mela¬ 
nesians  mana;  but  which,  under  whatever  name,  is  conceived  as 
the  ultimate  source  of  power,  the  controller  of  happiness,  the 
determiner  of  destiny.” — Pratt,  “The  Religious  Consciousness,”  pp. 
261-262. 

“Giddings,  “The  Responsible  State,”  pp.  5,  6. 


THE  QUEST  FOR  SALVATION  7 

killed  and  others  made  alive.  Faint  echoes  of  this 
time  are  heard  in  the  Ninety-first  Psalm: 

For  he  shall  deliver  thee  from  the  snare  of  the  fowler,  and 
from  the  noisome  pestilence  .  .  . 

Thou  shalt  not  be  afraid  for  the  terror  by  night,  nor  for 
the  arrow  that  flieth  by  day; 

For  the  pestilence  that  walketh  in  darkness,  nor  for  the 
destruction  that  wasteth  at  noonday. 

With  a  keen  intuition  of  reality,  men  were  not 
content  to  animize  the  powers  of  nature,  but  took  a 
step  further  and  humanized  them.  They  sought  their 
‘Tesh^^  'fin  the  Godhead. They  made  gods  after 
their  own  image:  out  of  the  powers  of  nature  and 
the  passions  of  the  soul  they  created  deities  who  con¬ 
trolled  the  physical  world  and  ruled  tribes  and  nations. 
In  the  words  of  Professor  Ames,  "the  growth  and 
objectification  of  the  god  goes  hand  in  hand  with  the 
social  experience  and  achievements  of  the  nation.” 
Zeus  was  the  god  of  the  sky,  Demeter  of  the  earth, 
Poseidon  of  the  sea.  "From  the  womb  of  the  dark 
enigma  that  haunted  him  in  the  beginning  there 
emerges  into  the  charmed  light  of  a  world  of  ideal 
grace  a  pantheon  of  fair  and  concrete  personalities.”  ® 
The  age  of  myth  and  legend,  the  naive  theology  of 
primitive  man,  began.  The  great  gods  take  their 
thrones  and  preside  over  the  affairs  of  men, — provide, 
protect,  and  guide.  Yea,  one  supreme  ruler  of  the 
heavens  and  the  earth,  of  gods  and  men,  is  adored 
under  different  names  in  different  lands.  In  Israel 
he  is  Yahweh.  Light  is  his  garment,  clouds  are  his 

^  Mowinckel  in  his  Psalmenstudien  (1921)  claims  that  the  authors 
of  the  Psalms  felt  themselves  haunted  and  pursued  by  witches, 
spirits,  and  demons. 

^“Psychology  of  Religious  Experience,”  p.  113;  see  also  Lllwood, 
“The  Reconstruction  of  Religion,”  p.  57. 

*  Dickinson,  “The  Greek  View  of  Life,”  p.  3. 


8 


CHRISTIAN  WAYS  OF  SALVATION 


chariot,  the  winds  are  his  messengers,  flames  of  fire 
his  ministers  (Psalm  104).  In  the  Rig- Veda  he  is 
‘Trajapati:  ^^Thou  art  the  one^ — and  there’s  no  other — 
who  dost  encompass  all  these  born  entities!”  ^  In  the 
Upanishads  the  ultimate  being,  the  unity  in  infinite 
diversity,  designated  variously  as  ^ht,”  ^This,”  “he,”  is 
Brahma,  or  Purusha  (the  person  or  the  soul),  or, 
especially,  Atman.  In  Egypt  Serapis  alone  “is  adored 
by  kings  as  by  private  persons,  by  the  wise  as  by  the 
foolish,  by  the  great  as  by  the  small.”  In  the  Iliad 
we  read  of  “Father  Zeus,  that  rulest  from  Ida,  most 
glorious,  most  great.” 

In  prophecy  and  psalmody,  in  poetry  and  philos¬ 
ophy,  God  is  celebrated  as  one.  Polydsemonism  and 
polytheism  make  way  for  monotheism,  theistic  or 
pantheistic.  In  the  words  of  Rhys-Davids  (“Bud¬ 
dhism,”  p.  21),  “the  fact  is,  that,  whenever  there  is 
sufl&cient  intelligence  and  sufficient  leisure  in  a  country 
where  the  soul  theory  is  held,  there,  by  a  logical  process 
which  is  inevitable,  men  will  come  to  believe  in  a  num¬ 
ber  of  gods;  and  then,  later  on,  to  perceive  a  unity  be¬ 
hind  the  many,  and  to  postulate  a  single  divinity  as  the 
supposed  source  of  the  many  gods  whom  they  them¬ 
selves  have  really  fashioned.” 

While  gods  were  humanized  and  unified,  they  were 
also  ethicized.  The  Deity  is  not  merely  an  arbitrary 
king,  a  capricious  oriental  despot,  but  a  holy  and 
righteous  ruler  and  judge.  These  qualities  he  de¬ 
mands  of  his  people:  “Be  ye  holy,  for  I  am  holy.” 
“Who  shall  dwell  in  thy  holy  hill?  He  that  walketh 
uprightly  and  worketh  righteousness,  and  speaketh 

“Bloomfield,  “Religion  of  the  Veda,”  p.  241. 

“Aristides,  in  Serapid,  p.  89,  quoted  in  Legge,  “Forerunners  and 
Rivals  of  Christianity,”  I.  p,  58. 

^  Iliad  III.  276.  Lang,  Leaf  and  Meyers  translation,  p.  67. 


9 


THE  QUEST  FOR  SALVATION 

truth  in  his  heart.”  He  finds  no  satisfaction  in  the 
customary,  heartless  routine  of  a  ritual.  He  is  not 
pleased  ^^with  thousands  of  rams,  or  with  ten  thou¬ 
sands  of  rivers  of  oil.”  ^‘He  hath  shewed  thee,  0 
man,  what  is  good;  and  what  doth  Jehovah  require 
of  thee,  but  to  do  justly,  and  to  love  kindness  and  to 
walk  humbly  with  thy  God?” 

Men  called  upon  God  as  a  father  who  loves,  for¬ 
gives,  and  cares  for  his  people.  He  is  a  good  shep¬ 
herd,  who  feeds  his  flock,  gathers  the  lambs  with  his 
arms  and  carries  them  in  his  bosom,  and  gently  leads 
those  that  are  with  young.  ^When  Israel  was  a  child,” 
cries  the  prophet  Hosea,  “then  I  loved  him,  and  called 
my  son  out  of  Egypt.  I  taught  Ephraim  also  to  go, 
taking  them  by  their  arms;  but  they  knew  not  that  I 
held  them.  I  drew  them  with  cords  of  a  man,  with 
bands  of  love.”  The  great  Unknown  Prophet  outdid 
even  Hosea,  when  he  said :  “As  one  whom  his  mother 
comforteth,  so  will  I  comfort  you,  saith  the  Lord.” 
And  now  men  of  all  colors  and  creeds  look  heavenward 
and  cry:  “Our  Father,  who  art  in  heaven.” 

Not  alone  in  the  scriptures  of  Jew  and  Christian 
are  there  evidences  of  the  justice  and  mercy  of  God. 
The  voice  of  a  penitent  is  heard  from  the  palace  of 
Assur-banipal,  saying: 

0  my  god,  my  sins  are  many,  my  transgressions  are  great; 

I  sought  for  help  and  none  took  my  hand. 

•  •••••• 

To  my  god,  the  merciful  one,  I  turn  myself,  I  utter  my 
prayer. 

The  feet  of  my  goddess  I  kiss  and  water  with  tears. 

0  Lord  cast  not  away  thy  servant  .  . 

^  Psalm  15:1  sq. 

Micah  6:8.  / 

^^Sayce,  “The  Religions  of  Ancient  Egypt  and  Babylonia,”  pp. 
420  sq. 


10 


CHRISTIAN  WAYS  OF  SALVATION 


Serapis  is  proclaimed  as  ^Trotector  and  Savior  of  all 
men,”  ‘^most-loving  of  all  gods  toward  men,”  “greatly 
turned  towards  mercy.”  Apollo  approaches  the  blood¬ 
stained  matricide  Orestes  in  the  “Eumenides”  of 
iEschylus  with  words  of  comfort : 

Thee  will  I  not  betray,  to  thee  aye  true; 

Near  to  protect,  yet  from  thee  far  removed. 

No  grace  nor  favor  will  I  show  to  those 
Who  hate  thee.^® 

The  author  of  the  speech  against  Aristogeiton  in 
the  fourth  century  b.c.  said:  “All  mankind  have 
altars  dedicated  to  Justice,  Law-abidingness,  Pity,  the 
fairest  and  holiest  in  the  very  soul  and  the  nature  of 
each  individual.”  In  the  words  of  Legge:  “The 
reign  of  the  warlike  gods  and  goddesses  of  Homer — 
always,  as  Renan  says,  brandishing  a  spear  from  the 
top  of  the  Acropolis — is  over,  and  instead  of  them  man 
has  at  last  found 

‘Gods,  the  friends  of  man,  merciful  gods,  compassionate,’ 
who  would  certainly  ‘answer  him  again’  as  a  father  would 
his  children.” 

The  hopes,  aspirations,  and  intuitions  of  men  were 
finally  realized  in  the  incarnation,  which  expresses  the 
essential  kinship  between  God  and  man.  God  is 
humanized  without  the  loss  of  divine  prerogatives, 
and  man  is  divinized  without  the  loss  of  human 
qualities.  In  Jesus,  men  became  conscious  of  God  as 
nowhere  else.  Words  failed  to  convey  their  conviction 

“Bousset,  “What  is  Religion,”  p.  105. 

““Encyclopedia  of  Religion  and  Ethics,”  Art.  “Greek  Religion,” 
p.  414. 

““Forerunners  and  Rivals  of  Christianity,”  I.  p.  58. 


11 


THE  QUEST  FOR  SALVATION 

of  the  dignity  of  the  Man  of  Nazareth.  He  is  the 
Messiah,  the  Logos,  the  fuUness  of  the  Godhead 
bodily,  the  Word  made  flesh.  In  simple  phrase,  his 
disciples  were  overcome  with  the  idea,  which  became 
the  tap-root  of  a  new  life,  that  God  is  like  Jesus  and 
that  Jesus  is  like  God.  This  conception  of  God  put 
men  at  peace,  for  in  no  other  as  in  a  Christlike  God 
can  men  trust;  him  they  can  love,  in  him  they  can 
hope,  with  him  and  for  him  they  can  live  and  labor. 

The  original  thrill  of  primitive  man  had  its  latent 
possibilities  no  less  than  the  mystery  which  he  faced. 
The  thrill  grew  into  worship.  At  first  it  was  probably 
no  more  than  a  sense  of  fear,  shading  into  awe;  fear 
and  awe  blossomed  into  reverence,  and  reverence  was 
attended  with  a  feeling  of  responsibility.  The  savage 
felt  the  need  of  living  on  good  terms  with  the  spirits 
of  the  air.  He  began  to  treat  his  gods  as  he  treated  the 
chief  of  his  tribe.  He  praised  them  by  action  and 
word.  He  fed  them  by  sacrifice.  He  bribed  or  tipped 
them  with  gifts.  He  did  unto  the  gods  as  he  would 
'that  the  gods  should  do  unto  him.  With  the  develop¬ 
ment  of  society,  the  throne  supplied  metaphors  for 
the  altar,  the  palace  became  a  pattern  for  the  temple, 
the  prince  set  the  fashion  for  the  priest,  politics 
furnished  parables  for  religion. 

The  thriU,  also,  turned  into  curiosity,  and  curiosity 
asked  questions.  The  savage  not  only  feared  and 
revered  the  mystery,  but  he  became  a  naive  scientist 
and  inquired  into  its  nature.  The  naked  foresters  were 
the  forerunners  of  Darwin  and  Haeckel,  Spencer  and 
Bergson.  They  tried  to  answer  the  eternal  questions, 
Whence?  What?  Why?  Whither?  With  them  the 
romance  of  science  began.  For  science  and  ;religion 
were  twin-born.  Too  often,  like  Esau  and  Jacob,  they 


12 


CHRISTIAN  WAYS  OF  SALVATION 


dwelt  apart  and  waged  war  against  each  other.  They 
failed  to  recognize  their  kinship  and  their  common 
purpose,  to  magnify  God  and  to  advance  human  wel¬ 
fare.  Happily  they  are  now  approaching  each  other, 
and  sending  gifts  on  the  way  that  they  may  meet  as 
brothers. 


Ill 

The  stages  in  the  evolution  of  religion  have  corre¬ 
sponding  conceptions  of  salvation.  In  its  original  form 
the  idea  of  salvation  seems  to  have  been  rooted  in  a 
sense  of  helplessness  and  need  in  the  presence  of 
powers  playing  around  man  and  beyond  his  control. 
Fire  burned,  water  drowned,  storms  uprooted,  famine 
and  pestilence  left  ruin  and  death  in  their  path.  Sun¬ 
shine  warmed,  dew  refreshed,  crystal  springs  quenched 
thirst,  herbs  and  trees  bore  nourishing  fruit.  There 
were  powers  hostile  and  powers  benign.  Men  were 
at  their  mercy,  and  instinctively  felt  the  need  to  live 
at  peace  with  them,  to  enjoy  their  aid  and  to  escape 
their  injury.  The  conviction  gained  ground  that  man’s 
destiny  is  decided  by  powers  outside  of  him  and  be¬ 
yond  his  control. 

Man  came  also  to  feel  the  powers  of  a  world  within, 
as  well  as  about,  him.  These  powers  were  a  part  of 
him,  and  yet  they  came  upon  him  and  possessed  him, 
so  that  he  was  under  their  control  against  his  will. 
Here  was  the  beginning  of  a  new  conflict,  not  with  the 
powers  of  the  air,  but  with  the  desires  and  passions 
of  the  soul.  They  were  personified  and  became  as  real 
as  the  sun,  the  stars,  the  forests,  and  the  storm.  In 
Greece,  for  example.  Aphrodite  was  the  incarnation  of 
love.  Ares  of  war,  Athena  of  wisdom,  Apollo  of  music, 
the  Furies  of  the  pangs  of  guilt.  They  had  to  be 


13 


THE  QUEST  FOR  SALVATION 

appeased,  implored,  and  served.  In  various  ways  they 
were  to  be  brought  into  the  service  of  man  for  the 
advancement  of  his  personal  and  his  tribal  life.  Man’s 
needs  were  now  felt  to  be  inward  and  spiritual,  and 
the  struggle  for  life  and  salvation  was  shifted  from 
the  outer  to  the  inner  life,  from  things  material  to 
things  moral. 

Professor  Case  admirably  summarizes  the  needs  of 
salvation  as  felt  by  men  at  different  stages  of 
civilization : 

It  [the  notion  of  salvation]  arises  as  soon  as  man  becomes 
conscious  of  contact  with  hostile  forces  from  whose  power 
he  seeks  deliverance.  He  may  think  his  enemies  to  be 
natural  phenomena,  such  as  the  cold  of  winter  which 
threatens  him  with  starvation;  or  they  may  be  human  foes 
who  constantly  endanger  his  life  and  happiness.  They  may 
be  untoward  social  circumstances  which  lay  heavy  burdens 
upon  him  in  every  hour  of  his  existence.  They  may  be  the 
impersonal  forces  of  an  inexorable  destiny  in  whose  meshes 
he  seems  hopelessly  entangled,  or  destiny  may  have  become 
personalized  in  the  form  of  demonic  powers  lurking  in  every 
shadow  ready  to  pounce  upon  him  any  moment.  Or  he 
may  regard  his  worst  enemy  to  be  gross  materialistic  ex¬ 
istence  which  chokes  and  tarnishes  his  soul  shut  up  in  the 
prison  house  of  the  body.  Again,  he  may  lament  that  he 
has  yielded  to  the  wicked  impulses  of  his  heart  and  thus 
placed  his  conscience  under  the  burden  of  sin  and  guilt. 
These  hostile  forces,  acting  singly  or  in  combination,  tend  to 
make  man  conscious,  early  in  his  experience,  of  the  need  of 
salvation.^® 

Broadly  speaking,  there  are  two  conceptions  of 
salvation.  The  one  is  amelioration,  seeking  the  better¬ 
ment  of  man’s  condition  in  the  present  world  with 

little  or  no  thought  of  his  existence  after  death.  The 

/ 

““The  Evolution  of  Early  Christianity,”  p.  284. 


14 


CHRISTIAN  WAYS  OF  SALVATION 


other  is  redemption,  seeking  deliverance  from  the 
present  evil  world  and  entrance  into  a  higher  world 
either  here  or  hereafter. 

Man  was  first  concerned  about  amelioration.  His 
needs  were  related  to  his  physical  weU-being.  He  had 
to  have  food,  shelter,  clothing;  protection  against  in¬ 
jury  from  floods,  earthquakes,  drought,  fire,  famine 
and  pestilence,  the  spirits  of  the  dead  and  the  caprice 
of  the  gods,  wild  beasts  and  savage  men;  healing  of 
disease,  and  help  in  battle  or  the  chase.  To  live  his 
life  courageously,  triumphantly,  and  joyously,  he  had 
to  make  peace  with  his  surroundings.  Without  divine 
prescription  or  traditional  plan,  he  devised  ways  to 
ward  off  or  to  conciliate  the  harmful,  and  to  please 
the  helpful,  powers. 

The  early  Vedic  hymns  are  mostly  concerned  with 
earthly  goods;  their  aim  and  outlook  is  limited  to  the 
present  life.  The  benefits  sought  are  those  conducive 
to  temporal  well-being  and  enjoyment;  and  the  only 
conscious  need  is  deliverance  from  the  adverse  con¬ 
ditions  of  the  present  life,  and  an  advance  to  a  state 
of  existence  more  richly  blest  with  earthly  goods. 
^The  future  beyond  the  grave  was  not  illuminated  by 
a  hope  which  made  the  present  life  seem  valueless  by 
comparison.’’  The  Greek  burghers  sacrificed  to  the 
gods  that  they  might  obtain  health,  riches,  children. 
Theirs  was  not  an  ethical,  but  a  legal  conception  of 
religion,  in  which  God  and  man  were  bound  by  the 
terms  of  a  contract.  To  the  ancient  Teuton  salvation 
meant  riddance  of  the  things  that  were  evil  and  harm¬ 
ful,  and  preservation  against  destruction,  danger,  and 
calamity.  Of  evil  spirits  there  were  many  kinds, — 

Hastings,  “Encyclopedia  of  Religion  and  Ethics,”  Art.  “Salva¬ 
tion,”  p.  133. 


15 


THE  QUEST  FOR  SALVATION 

dwarfs,  giants,  dragons,  kobolds;  there  were  witches, 
wizards,  sorcerers,  and  enchanters,  with  their  arts  and 
incantations  for  the  annoyance  and  the  injury  of  man. 
From  their  malign  influence  the  Teuton  sought  salva¬ 
tion.^^  Wells,  in  his  ^^Outline  of  History,’’  says: 

Confusedly  under  the  stimulus  of  the  need  and  possibility 
of  cooperation  and  a  combined  life,  Neolithic  mankind  was 
feeling  out  for  guidance  and  knowledge.  Men  were  becom¬ 
ing  aware  that  personally  they  needed  protection  and  direc¬ 
tion,  cleansing  from  impurity,  power  behind  their  own 
strength.  Confusedly  in  response  to  that  demand,  bold, 
wise  men,  shrewd  and  cunning  men,  were  arising  to  become 
magicians,  priests,  chiefs,  and  kings.  They  are  not  to  be 
thought  of  as  cheats  or  usurpers  of  power,  nor  the  rest  of 
mankind  as  their  dupes.  All  men  are  mixed  in  their  motives ; 
a  hundred  things  move  them  to  seek  ascendancy  over  other 
men;  but  not  all  such  motives  are  base  or  bad.^^ 

The  idea  of  ameliorating  the  conditions  in  which 
men  live  here,  by  the  favor  of  the  gods  and  the  aid 
of  superhuman  powers,  is  usually  followed  by  the 
conception  of  deliverance  from  the  present,  and  en¬ 
trance  into  a  higher,  order  of  life,  either  now  or  in 
the  future.  This  change  of  view  takes  place  for  various 
reasons.  Long  ages  of  experience  convince  men  of 
the  insufficiency  and  the  vanity  of  the  merely  temporal 
life,  whether  of  the  individual  or  of  the  group.  The 
history  of  the  Greek  people  affords  a  concrete  illustra¬ 
tion.  ^^Amid  the  discouragements  of  the  sixth  century, 
the  ebb  of  colonization,  the  internal  wars,  the  fall  of 
Sybaris  and  of  the  half-divine  Nineveh,  came,  turning 
away  from  this  life  to  the  next,  the  setting  of  the  heart 
on  supernatural  bliss  above  the  reach  of  war  and 

^  Idem,  p,  149. 

^Vol.  I.  p.  134. 


/ 


16 


CHRISTIAN  WAYS  OF  SALVATION 


accident.”  Men  desire  to  be  free  from  life’s  petti¬ 
ness,  narrowness,  necessities,  delusions,  and  ills:  the 
nobler  self  seeks  deliverance  from  this  body  of  death. 
For  man  feels  himself  superior  to  nature  and  chafes 
under  the  limitations  of  his  sensuous  life.  He  is  ready 
to  mortify  himself  by  ascetic  practices,  to  forget  him¬ 
self  in  mystic  contemplation,  to  rise  above  himself 
in  ecstatic  exaltation  and  be  submerged  in  God.  The 
desire  is  rooted  in  a  new  valuation  of  the  qualities  of 
the  spiritual  life, — purity,  temperance,  knowledge, 
justice,  love,  mercy.  This  is  naturally  attended  by 
the  enrichment  of  the  idea  of  God  with  ethical 
characteristics,  and  by  the  effort  to  find  satisfaction 
for  the  highest  aspirations  in  fellowship  and  kinship 
with  him. 

^  There  is,  moreover,  an  ever-widening  gap  between 
the  soul  and  God,  between  things  as  they  are  and 
things  as  they  ought  to  be.  The  barrier  to  fellowship 
is  commonly  defined  as  ‘Vorld,” — the  material, 
ephemeral,  selfish  elements  of  life,  which  come  to  be 
known  also  as  ^^sin.”  To  overcome  the  estrangement, 
to  surmount  the  barrier,  to  escape  from  the  bondage  of 
the  body  and  of  time  and  space,  to  get  rid  of  sin,  by 
magic  or  mystery,  by  sacrament  or  ritual,  by  knowl¬ 
edge  or  morals,  is  the  meaning  and  aim  of  salvation. 

When  a  religion  rises  to  this  conception  of  a  life 
above  the  local  and  the  temporal,  it  ceases  to  be 
provincial  or  national,  and  becomes  universal  and 
international.  Its  blessings  are  inward  and  spiritual, — • 
forgiveness,  purity,  goodness, — and  are  independent 
of  color,  time,  or  clime.  Buddhism,  Parseeism,  and 
Christianity  are  religions  of  this  kind,  each  seeking 
deliverance  from  the  world  and  the  attainment  of  the 

**  Gilbert  Murray,  “Literature  of  Ancient  Greece,”  pp.  64,  65. 


THE  QUEST  FOR  SALVATION  17 

supreme  good  by  a  return  of  the  soul,  in  one  way  or 
another,  to  the  Ultimate  Being  of  the  universe. 

The  meaning  of  salvation,  accordingly,  varies  with 
the  ends  in  view.  When  physical  and  temporal  wel¬ 
fare  is  most  desired,  men’s  hearts  are  bent  upon  a 
Canaan  flowing  with  milk  and  honey,  secure  from 
invading  foes  and  free  from  harassing  circumstances. 
When  men  feel  themselves  bound  by  fate,  they  have 
recourse  to  magic  formulas  and  charms,  by  which  the 
divine  decree  may  be  evaded.  When  the  soul  chafes 
under  the  limitations  of  the  body,  is  stained  by  its 
lusts  and  hampered  by  its  infirmities,  deliverance 
from  the  prison,  purging  from  impurities,  and  freedom 
to  soar  into  ethereal  realms  are  devoutly  to  be  wished. 
When  sin  and  guilt  become  the  chief  burden  of  life, 
men  cry  out  for  redemption  and  long  for  the  holiness 
and  righteousness  of  God. 

The  ways  of  salvation  are  determined  by  the  con¬ 
ception  of  its  aim  and  content  as  well  as  of  the 
character  of  the  gods.  The  aid  of  superhuman  powers 
is  sought  either  by  compulsion  or  by  propitiation, 
each  a  reflection  of  the  tendencies  in  human  nature 
either  to  take  a  thing  by  force  or  to  obtain  it  by 
suasion.  To  put  it  in  another  form,  salvation  is  to 
be  procured  either  by  sacrifice  or  by  self-conquest. 
In  the  one  case,  God  saves  men,  though  men 
may  cooperate  with  him;  in  the  other,  men  save 
themselves,  though  God  may  cooperate  with 
them. 

The  gods  are  supposed,  by  primitive  people,  to  be 
compelled  by  the  invoking  of  their  names  and  the 
accurate  observance  of  proper  ceremonies.  In  return 
for  these  performances  the  benefits  demanded  ^ill 
necessarily  follow,  without  regard  to  the  applicant’s 


18 


CHRISTIAN  WAYS  OF  SALVATION 


state  of  mind  or  the  disposition  of  the  deity.  Maspero, 
in  his  ^^Egyptology/^  says:  ^Trayer  was  a  formula 
of  which  the  terms  had  imperative  value  and  the 
exact  enunciation  of  which  obliged  the  god  to  concede 
what  was  asked  of  him.^^  There  are  scholars,  like  Lord 
Avebury  and  Dr.  Frazer,  who  hold  that,  in  the  earliest 
stage  of  religion  among  the  tribes  generally,  men 
trusted  entirely  to  their  supposed  powers  of  compul¬ 
sion  in  their  dealings  with  the  invisible  world,  and  that 
the  attempt  to  propitiate  it  developed  out  of  this  at  a 
later  period.^^ 

Propitiation  of  the  gods  is  supposed  to  be  effected  by 
gifts,  services,  and  sacrifices.  It  is  assumed  that  they 
bestow  blessings  freely,  and  not  of  necessity.  Men 
worship  for  the  purpose  of  winning  divine  favor,  and 
not  to  force  divine  gifts.  For  their  daily  food  they 
ally  themselves  with  the  powers  of  nature  that  provide 
the  things  needful  for  the  body;  in  battle  they  put 
their  trust  for  victory  over  the  foe  in  a  tutelary  god; 
for  social  justice  in  times  of  tyranny  and  oppression, 
they  call  upon  the  god  who  works  righteousness;  in 
their  conflict  with  the  spirits  of  the  air  and  the  pas¬ 
sions  of  the  soul,  they  are  sustained  and  upheld  by 
divine  grace,  which  makes  them  more  than  con¬ 
querors. 

The  time  comes,  at  a  certain  stage  of  human  cul¬ 
ture,  when  men  are  disposed  to  rely  upon  themselves, 
more  than  upon  the  gods,  for  salvation.  It  is  the  way 
of  self-conquest  of  the  will  guided  by  the  reason, — the 
ideal  of  the  Greeks  from  Socrates  onward.  Of  salva¬ 
tion,  as  understood  by  the  Jews,  Morris  Joseph  says: 
“No  superhuman  ally  is  needed  by  the  atoning  soul. 

"^Vol.  I.  p.  163. 

^Legge,  ^‘Forerunners  and  Rivals,”  I.  p.  91. 


19 


THE  QUEST  FOR  SALVATION 

The  forces  in  the  sinner’s  own  breast  suffice.”  In 
this  respect  there  is  much  in  common  between 
Platonism,  Stoicism,  Judaism,  Confucianism,  Bud¬ 
dhism,  and  modern  humanism.^® 

The  idea  of  redemption  by  divine  power  was  taught 
in  the  oriental  mysteries  which  prevailed  in  Greece  in 
the  fourth  century  before  Christ.  Among  these  were 
the  mysteries  of  Orpheus,  Dionysus,  Eleusis,  Mithra. 
They  have  so  much  in  common  that  they  may  be 
regarded  as  a  new  stage  in  the  history  of  religion  and 
of  the  idea  of  redemption. 

These  brought  to  many  a  Greek  a  stronger  intensity 
of  religious  life.  The  traditional  cult  of  his  phratry, 
tribe,  or  city,  failed  to  satisfy  his  craving  for  things 
divine.  He  shifted  his  interest  from  the  physical  and 
political  world  around  him  to  the  spiritual  world  be¬ 
yond  the  grave.  By  initiation  he  entered  into  fellow¬ 
ship  with  those  who  are  partakers  of  the  blessings  of 
the  cult,  and  became  a  member  of  a  religious  congre¬ 
gation  instead  of  a  political  community.  His  primary 
concern  was  his  personal  salvation,  not  the  welfare 
of  the  tribe  or  nation  in  which  he  had  lost  hope.  He 
entered  upon  a  fellowship  which  death  will  not  in¬ 
terrupt  and  which  will  continue  in  eternity.  Herodo¬ 
tus  tells  us  how  the  Thracians  used  to  gather,  weep¬ 
ing,  round  a  newborn  child,  bewailing  his  entry  into 
this  miserable  world;  while  they  rejoiced  over  the 
death  of  any  of  their  fellows,  declaring  that  he  had 
thus  obtained  a  happy  deliverance  from  his  troubles.^'^ 
The  blessings  that  men  now  craved  were  promised  by 
the  mysteries  in  a  life  after  death. 

“  Hastings,  “Encyclopedia  of  Religion  and  Ethics,”  XI,  p,  138.  ^ 
On  redemption  and  its  attainment,  see  Case,  “Evolution  of 
Early  Christianity,”  pp.  285-287. 

^Book  V.  c.  4.  Legge  I.  p.  136. 


20 


CHRISTIAN  WAYS  OF  SALVATION 


Blessed  are  the  men  who  have  beheld;  he  who  has  not 
part  in  the  consecrations  will  not  have  a  similar  lot  after 
death  in  the  damp  darkness  of  Hades.^® 

To  them  alone  is  life  in  Hades;  to  others  it  is  all  tor- 
ment.^^ 

At  an  earlier  time  the  mysteries  were  a  part  of  the 
nature  religions  through  which  provision  was  made 
for  crops  and  herds  and  social  needs.  But  later  the 
welfare  of  the  individual  soul  became  uppermost.  Men 
looked  to  the  deity — who  formerly  guaranteed  the 
perpetuity  of  nature’s  life — to  give  the  individual  a 
similar  assurance.  ^^Thus  a  god  which  existed  at  first 
as  a  redeemer  of  vegetation  became  a  redeemer  of 
souls.” 

Union  with  the  deity  was  effected  through  various 
means,  such  as  dramatic  representation  of  the  birth 
and  life,  the  death  and  resurrection,  of  a  god;  the  use 
of  sacred  ablutions  and  sacramental  foods,  and  other 
rites  of  purification  and  enduement;  the  recital  of 
mystic  dogmas  and  the  communication  of  secret  for¬ 
mulas.  In  this  way  the  soul  presumably  was  cleansed, 
and  mystic  fellowship  with  god  was  obtained,  upon 
which  the  assurance  of  personal  immortality  was 
based.  In  the  words  of  Farnell,  ^The  spirit  of  Dionysos 
lifted  the  votary  above  the  conventional,  moral, 
human  life  to  wild  joy  of  self-abandonment,  the 
ecstasy  of  communion  with  God.” 

Professor  Case  says: 

The  human  spirit,  conscious  of  its  frailty  and  helpless 
at  the  loss  of  the  older  sanctions,  eagerly  turned  toward 

^Hymn  to  Demeter;  see  Rohde,  ‘Tsyche,”  p.  280. 

“Sophocles;  see  Rohde,  “Psyche,”  p.  294. 

“Hastings,  “Encyclopedia  of  Religion  and  Ethics,”  Art.  “Greek 
Religion,”  p.  409. 


21 


THE  QUEST  FOR  SALVATION 

those  cults  which  offered  a  personal  salvation  based  upon  a 
divine  redemptive  transaction.  Among  the  oriental  re¬ 
ligions  of  redemption  which  attempted  to  meet  this  situa¬ 
tion,  Christianity  was  the  last  to  arise,  but  it  ultimately  ^ 
triumphed  over  all  its  rivals.^^ 

3ii<The  Evolution  of  Early  Christianity,”  pp.  329,  330.  See  also 
Chap.  IX. 


CHAPTER  II 


AMELIORATION  AND  REDEMPTION 

It  is  beyond  our  scope  and  ability  to  discuss  the 
ways  of  salvation  of  all  the  ethnic  religions.  We  shall, 
therefore,  consider  the  ideas  of  salvation  only  of  the 
primitive  stages  of  religion  and  of  the  more  highly 
developed  religions  or  philosophies  of  the  Hindus  and 
the  Greeks. 


I 

The  first  attempts  to  control  material  and  spiritual 
forces  for  the  amelioration  of  men’s  condition  were 
made  through  magic,  which  operates  mediately  or 
immediately.  Certain  curative  or  fructifying  virtues, 
for  example,  are  presumed  to  reside  in  a  stone;  sickly 
or  barren  women  sit  upon  it,  or  linger  near  it,  expect¬ 
ing  help  according  to  their  needs.  Men  may  be  filled 
with  mysterious  power,  somewhat  as  the  body  is 
charged  with  electricity;  and  such  power  is  supposed 
to  be  drawn  from  fountains,  plants,  trees,  animals — 
especially  from  their  blood, — and  from  men  of  a 
certain  kind. 

Magic  works,  also,  through  magicians  and  mediums, 
who  have  discovered  the  secret  of  the  control  of  nature 
and  the  spirits.  They  are  masters  of  formulas,  in¬ 
cantations,  naive  hturgical  transactions  either  sacri¬ 
ficial  or  sacramental.  They  heal,  fertilize,  comfort, 

22 


AMELIORATION  AND  REDEMPTION 


23 


inspire,  enrich,  and  win  victories.  They  work  by  ad¬ 
juration,  conjuration,  exorcising,  and  banning.  They 
are  experts  in  the  interpretation  of  dreams  and  visions, 
and  are  able  to  declare  the  will  of  the  gods  through 
strange  phenomena  of  nature  and  human  life.  They 
have  power  to  call  up  the  dead  and  to  consult  invisible 
spirits.  The  range  of  the  sway  of  magic  extends 
all  the  way  from  the  soothsaying  of  nomadic  tribes 
to  the  astrology  of  Tycho  Brahe  and  Philip  Melanch- 
thon. 

The  magician  may  abuse  his  power  and  as  often  be 
hostile  as  friendly  to  men.  Ways  have  been  devised' 
to  circumvent  his  evil  designs.  The  conflict  between 
magic  and  counter-magic  is  the  actual  struggle  for 
life  among  primitive  men.  For,  most  of  the  ills  which 
afflict  their  lives — sickness,  insanity,  accidents,  defeats, 
and  failures  generally — are  ascribed  to  the  malign 
operations  of  sorcerers  and  witches  whose  superhuman 
power  is  not  controlled  by  an  ethical  purpose.  The 
higher  stages  of  religion  sound  the  note  of  warning 
against  the  deceptions  of  magic  and  the  wiles  of 
witchcraft,  yet  these  are  the  crude  beginnings,  the 
toddling  first-steps,  in  religious  life.^ 

^  In  India  magic  was  forbidden,  even  in  the  Vedic  period.  As  a 
rule,  magic — especially  the  “black”  or  evil  sort — was  considered  the 
worst  enemy  of  religion.  Notwithstanding  the  prohibition  of  it, 
magic  was  practised  by  the  Brahmins,  who  claimed  for  themselves, 
and  only  themselves,  the  right  to  engage  in  sorcery.  They  were 
the  possessors  of  the  secret  formulas,  and  changed  the  whole  of 
religion  into  magic,  claiming  to  compel  the  gods  by  their  art. 
(Tiele,  “Kompendium,”  4  Aufl.  pp.  248,  249.) 

“At  the  earliest  level  of  culture  there  plainly  can  be,  for  us,  no 
distinction  between  religious  ceremonies  and  magic  rites.”  (Pratt, 
“The  Religious  Consciousness,”  p,  264.)  Anthropologists  generally 
trace  the  beginnings  of  magic  to  the  same  fundamental  processes 
in  the  primitive  mind  as  religion,  Marett  says:  “The  two  funda¬ 
mental  concepts  underlying  both  magic  and  religion  are  those  of 
spirit  and  power.”  See  Ellwood,  “The  Reconstruction  of  Religion,” 
p.  35. 


24 


CHRISTIAN  WAYS  OF  SALVATION 


At  this  stage  religious  activity  proceeds  from 
premises  wholly  different  from  those  which  underlie 
our  view  of  the  world.  Men  have  no  thought  of  the 
law  of  cause  and  effect,  of  uniformity  in  nature,  of  an 
ethical  order  to  which  both  gods  and  men  must  con¬ 
form.  Nor  is  there  a  sense  of  historical  continuity, 
or  of  the  need  of  historical  records  by  which  the  ex¬ 
perience  of  the  past  is  preserved  for  the  instruction 
of  the  present  and  the  future.  Men  do  not  feel  them¬ 
selves  wholly  distinct  from  nature;  they  are,  as  yet, 
mere  pendants  of  a  cosmic  process.  The  lines  of 
division  between  man  and  beast  and  plant  are  dimly 
drawn.  Men  are  supposed  to  descend  from  animals, 
and  animals  at  times  turn  into  humans.  There  is 
just  enough  sense  of  independence  in  men  to  urge 
them  to  control  natural  power  for  their  own  immediate 
amelioration,  without  seeking  to  rise  above,  or  to 
transform,  their  surroundings.  Religion  is  largely  a 
private  concern,  and  the  motive  of  social  cooperation 
plays  scarcely  any  part.  Everything  grows  out  of  the 
material  needs  of  the  individual.  This  period  in 
human  development  is  the  time  of  the  arbitrary,  the 
capricious,  the  mechanical,  and  the  egoistic. 

Yet  here  are  the  first  evidences  of  religion.  Men 
reach  outward  and  upward  for  help.  They  cannot 
live  their  lives  alone.  They  have  the  feeling  of  de¬ 
pendence,  fear,  trust,  hope,  responsibility.  The 
magician,  after  aU,  is  the  primitive  priest,  and  the  cry 
of  the  savage  in  distress  is  the  first  prayer  to  high 
heaven.  Many  of  the  practices  of  magic  live  on  in 
the  higher  religions.  In  the  rituals  of  enlightened 
nations  there  are  survivals  of  the  crude  superstitions 
of  primitive  men.^ 

*  Tiele,  “Kompendium  der  Religionsgeschichte,”  4  Aufl.  pp,  248-250. 


AMELIORATION  AND  REDEMPTION 


25 


II 

In  the  higher  stages  of  religious  development  men 
catch  glimpses  of  life  above  and  beyond  the  present 
order.  They  naturally  contrast  the  material  and  the 
spiritual,  and  seek  deliverance  from  the  one  and 
attempt  to  rise  into  the  other.  This  distinction  is  not 
drawn  in  the  national  religions,  which  make  the  wel¬ 
fare  of  the  nation  the  highest  good  and  the  ultimate 
goal.  The  individual  finds  his  satisfaction  in  the  pros¬ 
perity  of  the  group,  for  which  he  lives  and  labors.  He 
is  constrained  by  the  idea  of  amelioration  to  make 
the  most  of  the  life  that  now  is.  With  the  dawning 
consciousness  of  a  higher  and  better  life,  the  re¬ 
demptive  religions  begin.  Men  then  devise  ways  of 
salvation  to  escape  the  limitations  of  the  material  and 
the  temporal,  and  to  enjoy  the  freedom  of  the  spir¬ 
itual  and  the  eternal.  They  discover  that  life  is  more 
than  the  food,  and  the  body  than  the  raiment.  The 
desire  of  the  heart  is  fixed  on  things  above.  Then  the 
earthly  life,  even  at  its  best,  is  no  longer  regarded  as 
an  end  in  itself,  but  merely  as  a  way  toward  that  end. 

Religions  of  this  kind  do  not  depend  upon  external 
supports  and  instruments,  but  become  purely  spiritual 
and  inward.  The  bond  of  fellowship  is  neither 
national  nor  social.  As  men  once  felt  themselves 
distinct  from  nature  and  superior  to  it,  they  now  stand 
apart  from  the  nation  and  seek  their  ultimate  goal 
above  it.  Sects  are  formed,  in  which  men  are  bound 
together  by  common  spiritual  needs  and  by  common 
observance  of  a  specific  way  of  salvation;  as,  fo/ 
example,  the  Epicureans,  the  Cynics,  and  the  Stoics. 
The  religious  congregation  supersedes  the  family, 


26 


CHRISTIAN  WAYS  OF  SALVATION 


phratry,  tribe,  or  state.  The  reach  of  redemption  is 
cosmopolitan,  including  men  of  all  nations  and 
tongues.  The  supreme  good  is  variously  defined  as 
an  invisible  and  spiritual  realm  entered  through  death, 
as  absorption  into  the  absolute  being  who  is  back  of 
the  transient  phenomena  of  the  universe,  or  as  the 
advent  of  a  new  spiritual  and  social  order,  a  new 
heaven  and  a  new  earth  here  and  now. 

Ideas  and  ways  of  redemption  have  been  developed 
in  the  more  enlightened  nations  of  the  Orient  and  the 
Occident;  but  in  the  most  refined  forms,  Palestine 
excepted,  in  India  and  in  Greece.  Before  we  consider 
the  characteristics  of  salvation  in  these  lands,  we  shall 
define  certain  presuppositions  which  underlie  the  con¬ 
ception  of  salvation  in  general. 

The  religions  of  redemption  grow  out  of  a  sense  of 
the  worthlessness,  misery,  vanity,  and  failure  of 
earthly  existence.  Brahmanism,  Buddhism,  Helle¬ 
nism,  and  Christianity  are  based  upon  a  pessimistic 
view  of  the  world.^  ^The  whole  world  lieth  in  the 
evil  one”  (I  John  5:19),  says  the  author  of  the  First 
Epistle  of  John.  Paul  reiterates  the  phrase,  ^Rhis 
present  evil  world”  (Galatians  1:4).  From  a  South 
Indian  folk-song  we  hear  the  sad  lament: 

How  many  births  are  past,  I  cannot  tell: 

How  many  yet  to  come,  no  man  can  say; 

But  this  I  know  and  know  full  well. 

That  pain  and  grief  embitter  all  the  way.”* 

Plato,  opposed  by  his  contemporaries  at  every  turn, 
speaks  of  himself  as  ^^one  who,  in  storm  and  dust  and 
sleet  which  the  driving  wind  hurries  along,  retires 

®Deussen,  “Philosophy  of  the  Upanishads,”  p.  140. 

^Quoted  in  Morrison,  “New  Ideas  in  India.” 


AMELIORATION  AND  REDEMPTION 


27 


under  the  shelter  of  a  wall/’  In  Athens  there  was  no 

'V  _ 

room  for  his  Ideal  Republic.  ^‘The  eternal  note  of 
sadness”  is  heard  in  modern  as  well  as  in  ancient 
times,  wafted  by  the  breeze  over  the  ruins  of  Babylon 
and  Greece,  of  France  and  Belgium.  The  conclusion 
of  the  whole  matter  is,  ^Vanity  of  vanities,  all  is 
vanity,” — the  experience  at  the  root  of  the  doctrine 
of  total  depravity.  Matthew  Arnold,  in  his  ^^Resigna¬ 
tion,”  sings, — 

...  A  life 

With  large  results  so  little  rife, 

Though  bearable,  seems  hardly  worth 
This  pomp  of  worlds,  this  pain  of  birth. 

Bertrand  Russell,^  in  his  ^^Logic  and  Mysticism,” 
reaches  a  rhetorical  but  disheartening  conclusion — the 
last  result  of  the  scientific  method: 

The  life  of  Man  is  a  long  march  through  the  night,  sur¬ 
rounded  by  invisible  foes,  tortured  by  weariness  and  pain, 
towards  a  goal  that  few  can  hope  to  reach,  and  where  none 
may  tarry  long.  .  .  . 

Brief  and  powerless  is  Man’s  life;  on  him  and  all  his  race 
the  slow,  sure  doom  falls  pitiless  and  dark.  Blind  to  good 
and  evil,  reckless  of  destruction,  omnipotent  matter  rolls  on 
its  relentless  way;  for  Man  condemned  to-day  to  lose  his 
dearest,  to-morrow  himself  to  pass  through  the  gate  of 
darkness,  it  remains  only  to  cherish,  ere  yet  the  blow  falls, 
the  lofty  thoughts  that  ennoble  his  little  day.® 

“Russell  is  described  by  H.  E.  Fosdick  in  the  Congregationalist, 
January  5,  1922,  p.  13,  as  “professor  of  Mathematics  in  the  Uni¬ 
versity  of  Cambridge,  England,  and  one  of  the  keenest  intellects 
of  the  western  world.  In  social  theory  he  is  an  ardent  Communist  ; 
in  spiritual  attitude  he  is  violently  anti-religious.  .  .  .  During  his 
stay  in  Peking  he  has  been  frankly  and  publicly  living  with  his 
paramour,  Miss  Black,  while  his  wife  is  divorcing  him  in  England, 
and  Miss  Black  has  been  lecturing  to  Chinese  student  audiences  on 
the  glories  of  free  love.” 

“Pp.  56,  57. 


28 


CHRISTIAN  WAYS  OF  SALVATION 


In  the  midst  of  an  evil  world  men,  however,  respond 
to  the  appeal  of  the  heavenly  vision.  A  spark  disturbs 
their  clod.  They  aspire  to  rise  above  the  temporal  and 
material  into  the  eternal  and  the  spiritual.  They  are 
true  to  that  impulse  of  which  Aristotle  speaks  when 
he  declares  that  all  things,  by  an  intuition  of  their 
own  nature,  seek  their  perfection. 

Salvation  is  obtained  either  by  human  effort  or  by 
divine  act,  or  by  the  cooperation  of  both.  In  man’s 
effort,  one  of  three  tendencies  may  predominate,  the 
intellectual,  the  moral,  or  the  emotional.  These  three 
often  blend  in  the  attempt  to  reach  the  goal.  In  God’s 
act,  it  may  be  the  dictation  of  laws,  the  revelation  of 
truth,  or  the  impartation  of  grace.  Salvation  may 
mean  deliverance  of  the  individual,  or  of  the  group, 
from  life  itself  or  from  the  evils  of  life, — deliverance 
present  or  future,  but  always  deliverance,  by  special 
effort,  human  or  divine  or  both,  from  the  world  about 
us  and  within  us. 

The  primary  aim  of  the  religions  and  philosophies 
of  India  is  deliverance  from  the  weariness  and  sorrow 
which  are  associated  with  life  upon  earth.  The  various 
sects  may  differ  in  their  views  of  the  way  of  deliver¬ 
ance,  but  all  agree  in  their  search  for  deliverance  from 
the  present  evil  life  and  in  their  efforts  to  be  trans¬ 
ported  into  a  state  of  peace  without  penalty  or  pain. 
Long  ages  of  experience  have  convinced  the  Hindus 
that  freedom  and  happiness  cannot  be  obtained  in  our 
temporal  existence,  and  therefore  in  one  way  or  an¬ 
other  they  seek  redemption  not  only  from  the  limita¬ 
tions  and  bondage  of  time  and  space,  from  the  pas¬ 
sions  and  privations  of  the  material  order,  but  from 
life  itself,  that  they  may  reach  the  unchanging  and 
passionless  existence. 


AMELIORATION  AND  REDEMPTION 


29 


Tiele,  in  his  ^‘Kompendium’’  (p.  235),  describes 
three  ways  of  salvation  in  India;  not  infrequently, 
however,  they  are  combined  in  practice.  The  first  is 
by  works,  sacrifices,  and  ascetic  practices,  as  in  the 
Vedas;  the  second  is  by  knowledge,  as  in  Brahmanism; 
and  the  third  is  by  faith,  surrender,  and  love,  as  in 
Hinduism  as  a  whole.  Buddhism  represents  salvation 
through  knowledge,  though  in  some  of  its  forms 
surrender  to  the  redeeming  Godhead  is  emphasized. 

We  shall  consider  two  systems  of  salvation  as  dis¬ 
tinctive  products  of  India.  The  one  is  worked  out  in 
the  philosophy  of  the  Vedanta,  the  other  in  the  religion 
or  philosophy  of  Buddha.'^ 

Ill 

In  the  doctrine  of  the  Vedanta  the  Hindu  way  of 
thinking  reaches  its  most  satisfactory  philosophical 
expression.®  The  Upanishads  (apart  from  the  later 
and  less  important  books)  have  been  handed  down  to 
us  as  Vedanta,  i.e.,  as  the  concluding  part  of  the  Brah- 
manas  and  Aranyakas,  which  teach  and  expound 
allegorically  the  ritual  of  sacrifice  (Deussen).  The 
teaching  of  the  Upanishads  is  radically  opposed  to  the 
entire  Vedic  sacrificial  cult.  Later,  however,  this 
opposition  was  concealed  by  allegorical  interpretation, 
and  the  Brahmans  claimed  the  doctrine  of  the  atman 

’’  Deussen  reminds  us  that  when  philosophy  is  turned  into  a  means 
for  escape  from  evil  or  suffering,  it  is  a  symptom  of  exhaustion. 
“Philosophy  is  originally  based  upon  a  pure  desire  for  knowledge 
and  knows  no  other  name  than  the  search  for  truth.  Only  when  this 
desire  is  weakened  does  philosophy  become  a  mere  means  to  an 
end,  a  remedium  for  the  suffering  of  existence.  This  was  the  case 
in  Greece  in  the  schools  that  succeeded  Aristotle;  also  in  India\in 
the  Sakyha  system  and  in  Buddhism.” — “The  Philosophy  of  the 
Upanishads,”  p.  254. 

*Chantepie  de  la  Saussaye,  “Religionsgeschichte,”  II.  p.  61. 


30 


CHRISTIAN  WAYS  OF  SALVATION 


(the  essence  of  man’s  being)  as  their  peculiar  heritage. 
This  seems  to  be  the  significance  of  the  verse,  ^^Only 
he  who  knows  the  Veda  comprehends  the  great  omni¬ 
present  atman.”  ^ 

The  central  idea  of  the  Vedanta  is  the  identity  of 
the  Brahma  and  the  atman  (of  the  world  soul  and 
the  human  soul).  This  is  briefiy  taught  in  the  Vedic 
words:  *'That  art  thou,”  and  'Y  am  Brahma”  The 
soul  of  man  is  not  simply  a  part  or  an  emanation  of 
the  Brahman,  but  it  is  the  eternal  and  undivided 
Brahman,  complete  and  whole.  The  knowledge  of 
Brahman  at  once  transports  a  man  into  the  state  of 
absolute  salvation.  In  the  Rig-Veda,  the  hope  of 
going  to  the  gods  after  death  was  transformed  into  a 
hope  of  attaining  ‘Community  of  life”  with  Brahma. 

The  problem  of  redemption*  is  to  deliver  the  atman 
from  a  separate  and  individual  existence;  for  such  a 
state  involves  suffering  and  sorrow.  Deliverance  can¬ 
not  be  obtained  by  works;  for  these,  both  good  and 
bad,  require  recompense  in  a  new  mode  of  existence 
through  transmigration.  Nor  can  moral  purifications 
free  men  from  bondage,  for  purification  of  some  one 
or  some  thing  presupposes  capability  of  changing. 
The  atman,  however,  is  unchangeable.  Redemption, 
therefore,  cannot  consist  in  becoming  something  or 
pursuing  something;  but  only  in  knowledge  of  that 
which  already  is,  but  through  ignorance  is  hid.  He 
who  has  recognized  that  ^T  am  Brahma”  (aham 
brahma  asim),  or  ^Thou  art  it”  (tat  twam  asi),  he 
already  is,  not  will  be,  delivered ;  he  sees  through  the 

®  Deiissen,  “The  Upanishads,”  p,  396. 

See  Chantepie  de  la  Saiissaye,  “Religionsgeschichte,”  II.  p. 
61  sq. 

“The  “Brahman  usurped  the  place  of  the  ancient  Vedic  gods.’’ 
Deussen,  p.  408. 


AMELIORATION  AND  REDEMPTION 


31 


illusion  of  plurality,  knows  himself  as  the  sole  real, 
as  the  substance  of  all  that  exists,  and  is  thereby 
exalted  above  all  desire  (kama) ;  for,  ^‘What  can  he 
desire  who  possesses  all?’^  He  who  knows  this  (that 
he  is  Brahma),  has  overcome  all  sin;  or,  much  more, 
he  will  not  be  stained  by  sinning:  like  atman  itself,  he 
is  exalted  beyond  good  and  evil.  Salvation  is  there¬ 
fore  knowledge,  the  lifting  of  the  veil  of  ignorance 
which  conceals  from  the  soul  the  truth  that  it  is,  and 
always  has  been,  one  with  Brahma. 

By  knowledge  they  climb  upwards 
Thither,  where  desire  is  at  rest; 

Neither  sacrificial  gift  reaches  thither, 

Nor  the  penance  of  the  ignorant. 

Then  the  individual  is  delivered  from  the  cramped, 
fettered,  and  sorrowful  earthly  life.  For  him  there 
is  no  world,  no  body,  no  pain,  no  prescriptions  or  laws 
of  living.  He  will  not  do  evil,  because  the  root  of  all 
evil  is  destroyed.  He  is  sure  that  after  death  he  will 
not  be  reborn  and  continue  existence  in  another  form; 
for  knowledge  destroys  the  seed  of  works  and  rec¬ 
ompense  is  no  longer  necessary.  With  the  end  of  his 
life  upon  earth,  the  perfect  and  eternal  redemption  is 
attained.  He  is  Brahma,  and  in  Brahma  he  is 
complete. 

While  salvation  is  obtained  by  immediate  intuition, 
it  is  none  the  less  thought  of  as  an  effect  which  may 
be  accelerated  by  appropriate  means.  It  involves  two 
things:  (1)  the  removal  of  the  consciousness  of 
plurality;  (2)  the  removal  of  all  desire, — the  necessary 
consequence  and  accompaniment  of  that  conscious-  / 


“Deussen,  p.  409. 


32 


CHRISTIAN  WAYS  OF  SALVATION 


ness.  To  produce  these  states  artificially,  two  Hindu 
practices  were  developed,  the  yoga  and  the  sannydsa. 

Yoga  by  derivation  means  the  binding  of  the  soul 
to  the  Highest.  At  first  it  was  a  binding  through 
purely  philosophical  speculation;  but  later  it  became 
a  sort  of  ascetic  exercise  and  spiritual'  chastiserrijent 
by  which  salvation  was  to  be  obtained.  It  included 
such  things  as  sitting  unmoved,  fixing  the  eye  upon 
the  sun  to  the  point  of  blindness,  holding  the  breath, 
repeating  a  mystic  word, — the  well-known  om,  for 
example, — until  ecstasy  was  induced  and  oneness 
with  Brahma  was  experienced. 

The  sannyasa  consists  in  voluntary  renunciation, 
the  ^^casting  off  from  oneself’’  of  home,  possessions, 
family,  and  everything  that  stimulates  desire,  so  as  to 
be  released  from  ties  of  earth,  and  to  live  at  one  with 
Brahma.  The  hermits  in  the  forests  were  of  this 
class,  and  the  Brahman  priests  were  obligated  to  this 
form  of  renunciation. 

IV 

Buddhism  was  both  a  protest  against  Brahmanism 
and  a  reform  of  it ;  yet  it  retained  many  of  its  premises 
and  remained  genuinely  Hindu  in  its  texture.  It 
shared  with  Brahmanism  its  pessimistic  view  of  life, 
resolving  the  visible  and  tangible  world  into  a  ‘^de¬ 
ception  of  Maya”;  also  its  doctrine  of  transmigration 
and  of  Karma,  i.e.,  belief  in  the  reincarnation  and  the 
perpetuation  of  deed,  the  essence  of  an  individual  life, 
though  not  the  consciousness  of  identity.  The  char¬ 
acter  and  destiny  of  a  life  depend  upon  the  works  of 
a  previous  existence: 

Our  deeds  follow  us  from  afar; 

And  what  we  have  been  makes  us  what  we  are. 


AMELIORATION  AND  REDEMPTION 


33 


Buddha  refused  to  speak  on  metaphysical  or  in¬ 
tellectual  questions/^  for  the  reason  that  they  had  no 
redemptive  value/^  yet  he  shared  the  views  of  the 
universe  that  were  current  in  India  and  were  ex¬ 
pounded  in  the  Brahmanical  writings.  The  back¬ 
ground  of  his  doctrine  was  pantheistical  monism,  a 
theory  of  the  world  that  seems  most  congenial  to  the 
oriental  mind.  He  thought  of  a  universe  of  colossal 
and  unlimited  dimensions,  with  innumerable  worlds 
receding  and  vanishing  in  ever-widening  circles,  with¬ 
out  beginning  or  end,  always  in  process  of  becoming 
and  always  passing  away. 

Buddha  startles  us  with  his  negations  in  reference 
to  God,  the  soul,  and  the  universe.  He  is  atheistic, 
apsychic,  and  acosmic.  He  refuses  to  recognize  the 
existence  of  God,^®  and  of  the  human  soul;  though  he 
does  not  make  the  negations  an  article  of  faith,  but 
assumes  rather  an  attitude  of  silence.  Actual  belief 
in  them,  however,  is  considered  more  than  an  indiffer¬ 
ent  remnant  of  animism:  it  is  a  hindrance  to  the 
attainment  of  ideal  perfection.  For  any  real  advance 
in  ethical  living,  thinking,  or  practice  begins  only 
when  the  delusion  about  the  reality  of  the  soul  has 

^“To  feed  one  good  man,  however,  is  of  infinitely  greater  merit 
than  attending  to  questions  about  heaven  and  earth,  spirits  and 
demons,  such  as  occupy  ordinary  men,” — Beal,  “Buddhist  Scrip¬ 
tures,”  pp.  193-194. 

“Socrates  had  put  aside  inquiries  into  the  making  and  the  work¬ 
ing  of  the  world  and  speculations  on  being  and  becoming,  as  futile 
in  themselves  and  fruitless  to  the  great  end  of  living.” — Moore, 
“History  of  Religions,”  I.  p.  499,  It  is  interesting  to  observe  how 
the  great  teachers  of  Greece,  India,  and  China  (for  Confucius  took 
the  same  position)  despaired  of  the  value  of  metaphysical  specula¬ 
tions. 

““Buddhism,  like  Jainism,  has  two  substitutes  for  God,  one  of 
them  this  miraculously  moral  but  quite  unconscious  Cosmos  with 
its  inescapable  law  of  Karma;  the  other  the  ideal  being,  Gautama, 
the  Buddha.” — Pratt,  “The  Religious  Consciousness,”  p.  294. 


34 


CHRISTIAN  WAYS  OF  SALVATION 


been  renounced.  Likewise,  speculations  about  God  he 
considered  futile,  though  he  would  not  deny  the  exist¬ 
ence  of  God.  Sacrifices  he  declared  useless,  for  there 
are  no  gods  to  sacrifice  to;  and  priests  are  regarded 
as  obsolete,  since  each  man  must  save  himself.  He 
also  failed  to  recognize  a  world  soul, — Brahman  or 
Atman, — any  kind  of  being,  indeed,  which  exists  of 
itself  and  through  which  things  exist.  Everything  is 
perpetually  changing,  becoming,  passing.  Oldenberg, 
accordingly,  finds  the  difference  between  Brahmanism 
and  Buddhism  to  be  this:  that  the  Brahmans  discern 
being  in  all  becoming,  and  that  the  Buddhists  discern 
in  all  apparent  being  a  constant  becoming.  Buddhism 
knows  of  no  stuff,  or  soul,  as  the  essence  of  being  or 
substance.  It  is,  therefore,  acosmic  as  well  as  atheistic. 
To  escape  the  dangers  of  vain  speculation,  it  is  for¬ 
bidden  to  speak  of  being  or  not  being.  It  is  heresy 
to  think  of  the  world  as  finite  or  infinite,  or  of  the 
eternal  and  the  non-eternal.  The  whole  of  Buddhism 
is  controlled  by  the  spirit  of  negation,  even  to  the 
denial  of  the  will  to  live. 

Notwithstanding  these  negations  of  the  basal  ele¬ 
ments  of  the  world  and  of  life,  there  remain  ^fforms’^ 
(Sankharas)  and  “causes’’  (Hhammas).  The  forms 
are  psychological  states,  passing  moods,  mental 
activities  which  come  from  impressions  upon  us  and 
predispose  one  to  good  or  evil  deeds.  Each  form 
(Sankhara)  is  a  link  in  a  chain  of  causes;  and  is  an 
effect  of  earlier  causes  in  this  or  in  a  previous  existence, 
and  also  a  cause  of  future  deeds.  The  causation  is 
not  physical  but  ethical,  and  physical  things  are  de¬ 
termined  by  moral  forces.  This  law  of  causation  is 
the  central  idea  of  the  Buddhist  doctrine  of  trans¬ 
migration,  which  Buddha  accepted  as  a  heritage  from 


AMELIORATION  AND  REDEMPTION 


35 


Brahmanism.  It  is  based  upon  the  unavoidable 
reality  of  Samsara, — continued  rebirths  with  a  quality 
of  life  determined  by  deeds  of  the  present.  The 
illusory  ego,  or  soul  of  man,  passes  into  nothingness; 
but  the  Karma,  the  deed,  lives  on  and  forms  for  itself 
new  conditions  of  consciousness  and  new  physical 
qualities.  If  one  may  speak  of  a  world-stuff  in  Bud¬ 
dhism,  it  is  Karma,  for  out  of  it  everything  living  and 
moving  comes.  To  deliver  man  from  the  grip  of 
Karma  and  the  cycle  of  rebirths  is  Buddha’s  great 
mission. 

While  in  silent  and  solitary  meditation  under  the 
Bo  Tree,  Gotama  was  suddenly  enlightened,  and  be¬ 
held  the  way  of  salvation.  “This  knowledge  and  in¬ 
sight  have  arisen  within  me.”  He  gave  the  remaining 
forty-five  years  of  his  life  to  the  spread  of  his  gospel. 
“For  this  purpose,”  he  said,  “am  I  going  to  that  city 
of  Benares,  to  give  light  to  those  enshrouded  in 
darkness  and  to  open  the  gate  of  immortality  to 
men.” 

The  substance  of  his  message  to  men  was  spoken  in 
the  discourse  at  Benares,  entitled  the  “Foundation  of 
the  Kingdom  of  Righteousness,”  which  may  be  called 
Buddha’s  Sermon  on  the  Mount.  In  the  introduction 
he  warns  his  followers  against  two  extremes:  indul¬ 
gence  in  the  pleasures  of  sense  on  the  one  hand,  and 
self-mortification  on  the  other.  He  commends  a 
“Middle  Way” — “a  path  which  opens  the  eyes  and 
bestows  understanding,  which  leads  to  peace  of  mind, 
to  the  higher  wisdom,  to  full  enlightenment,  to 
Nirvana.” 

He  protested  against  a  wasteful  and  unethical 
ritualism,  a  wearisome  and  profitless  asceticism,  and 
a  degrading  and  undemocratic  caste  system.  For  ritual 


36 


CHRISTIAN  WAYS  OF  SALVATION 


he  preached  righteousness;  for  asceticism  or  sensual¬ 
ism,  temperance, — the  Middle  Way;  for  speculations, 
self-discipline;  for  caste,  brotherhood;  for  the  infallible 
Vedas,  the  enlightened  reason. 

The  basal  assumptions  of  his  teaching  are  the  four 
noble  truths  about  suffering. 

The  first  truth  declares  life  itself  painful,  because 
in  all  its  forms  and  stages  it  is  impermanent  and  eva¬ 
nescent.  Birth  and  old  age,  disease  and  death,  are 
painful.  ^^Any  craving  that  is  unsatisfied  is  painful.^^ 
Gotama  laments  not  only  calamity  in  life,  but  life 
itself  as  a  calamity.  This  is  radical  and  universal 
pessimism. 

The  second  truth  declares  the  cause  or  origin  of 
suffering  to  be  the  ‘^craving  thirst^^  for  life  and  the 
renewal  of  life;  that  is  to  say,  ^The  craving  for  the 
gratification  of  the  passions,  or  the  craving  for  a  future 
life,  or  the  craving  for  success  in  this  present  life  (the 
lust  of  the  flesh,  the  lust  of  life,  or  the  pride  of  life). 
Through  men’s  longing  for  existence  they  prolong 
existence  and  beget  Karma,  which  is  the  cause  of 
continued  rebirth. 

The  Buddhist  says: 

No!  It  is  not  separateness  you  should  hope  and  long  for; 
it  is  union — the  sense  of  oneness  with  all  that  now  is,  that 
has  ever  been,  that  ever  can  be — ^the  sense  that  shall  enlarge 
the  horizon  of  your  being  to  the  limits  of  the  universe,  that 
shall  lift  you  up  into  a  new  plane  far  beyond,  outside,  all 
mean  and  miserable  care  for  self.  Give  up  the  fool’s  paradise 
of  “This  is  I”  and  “This  is  mine.”  This  is  the  greatest 
reality  that  you  are  asked  to  grasp.  Leap  forward  without 
fear!  You  shall  find  yourself  in  the  ambrosial  waters  of 
Nirvana,  and  shall  sport  with  the  arahats  who  have  con¬ 
quered  death.^® 

Rhys-Davids,  “Buddhism,”  p.  129. 


AMELIORATION  AND  REDEMPTION 


37 


The  third  truth  declares  the  destruction  of  suffering, 
which  requires  the  annihilation  of  craving,  of  thirst, 
of  desire,  and  ends  in  the  state  of  Nirvana.  Whether 
or  not  this  involves  cessation  of  existence  or  of  life, 
is  a  disputed  question.  Gotama  never  answered  it. 
He  avoids  saying  that  Nirvana  is  being  or  not  being, 
and  Buddhistic  theology  has  pronounced  it  heresy 
either  to  say  that  it  is  annihilation  or  that  it  is  not 
annihilation.  It  is  defined  only  negatively,  as  not 
life;  also  as  not  death,  not  desire,  not  consciousness, — 
only  the  condition  that  is  free  from  rebirth.  Later 
Buddhism  could  not  maintain  this  absolute  indefinite¬ 
ness  of  the  conception  of  Nirvana,  but  thought  of  it 
as  blessedness  consisting  of  spirituality  and  freedom. 

The  fourth  truth  declares  ^The  way  which  leads  to 
the  destruction  of  suffering.’’  It  is  the  way  of  the 
noble  Eightfold  Path,  which  consists  of 

Right  Views  (free  from  superstition  and  delusion) ; 

Right  Aspirations  (high,  and  worthy  of  the  intelligent, 
earnest  man) ; 

Right  Speech  (kindly,  open,  truthful) ; 

Right  Conduct  (peaceful,  honest,  pure) ; 

Right  Livelihood  (bringing  hurt  or  danger  to  no  living 
thing) ; 

Right  Effort  (in  self-training  and  in  self-control) ; 

Right  Mindfulness  (the  active,  watchful  mind) ; 

Right  Rapture  (in  deep  meditation  on  the  realities  of 
life) . 

Those  who  have  entered  upon  the  Noble  Eightfold 
Path  are  on  the  way  to  Arahatship  and  Nirvana. 
While  on  the  Path,  they  must  break  the  Ten  Fetters: 

(1)  delusion  of  self  (the  reality  of  self-existence) ; 

(2)  doubt,  e.g,,  in  the  teacher,  the  way,  the  order. 
Karma,  etc.;  (3)  trust  in  efficacy  of  good  works  and 


38 


CHRISTIAN  WAYS  OF  SALVATION 


ceremonies;  (4)  Kama  (not  Karma),  or  sensuality; 
(5)  ill-will;  (6)  love  of  life  on  earth,  or,  literally,  in 
the  world  of  forms;  (7)  desire  for  a  future  life  in 
heaven;  literally,  in  the  formless  worlds;  (8)  pride; 
(9)  self-righteousness;  (10)  ignorance. 

To  have  acquired,  as  an  habitual  frame  of  mind,  the 
eight  positive  characteristics  of  the  Eightfold  Path, 
and  to  have  got  rid  of  the  Fetters,  is  to  have  attained 
to  Arahatship,  the  Buddhist  ideal  of  life  or  highest 
good.  It  is  described  by  various  terms,  as  Emancipa¬ 
tion,  Island  of  Refuge,  End  of  Craving,  State  of  Purity, 
the  Supreme,  the  Transcendent,  the  Uncreate,  the 
Tranquil,  the  Going  Out. 

The  most  familiar  epithet  to  define  this  state  is 
Nirvana,  which  means,  primarily,  ^The  going  out”  of 
the  flame  of  a  lamp;  secondarily,  ^The  going  out,”  in 
the  heart,  of  the  three  fires  of  lust,  ill-will,  dullness, 
and  of  the  ^ ^grasping”  which  leads  to  another  indi¬ 
vidual  life  in  the  future.  In  the  words  of  a  Buddhist 
poem : 

That  state  of  peace  I  saw  wherein  the  roots 
Of  ever  fresh  re-birth  are  all  destroyed,  and  greed 
And  hatred  and  delusion  all  have  ceased, — 

That  state  from  lust  for  future  life  set  free, 

That  changeth  not,  can  ne’er  be  led  to  change. 

My  mind  saw  that!  what  care  I  for  those  rites? 

The  blissful  state  of  Arahatship  is  described  in  the 
following  words : 

Let  us  live  happily,  then,  free  from  hatred  among  the 
hating;  let  us  live  happily,  then,  free  from  ailments  among 
the  ailing  1  Among  men  sick  at  heart,  let  us  dwell  free  from 
repining!  Let  us  live  happily,  then,  free  from  care  among 

"Mata  Vagga,  i.  22.  4,  P. 


AMELIORATION  AND  REDEMPTION  39 

the  care-worn!  Among  men  devoured  from  eagerness,  let 
us  be  free  from  excitement! 

Let  us  live  happily,  then,  we  who  have  no  hindrances! 
We  shall  be  like  the  bright  gods  who  feed  upon  happiness.^® 

Fausboll,  in  his  “Introduction  to  Sutta-Nipata,’^ 
says: 

A  Buddha  is  a  monk  who  has  forsaken  the  world,  has 
become  homeless  because  from  domestic  life  comes  im¬ 
purity.  He  has  no  views  of  his  own,  has  laid  all  philosophi¬ 
cal  ideas  aside,  and  never  disputes.  He  feels  neither  joy 
nor  sorrow  on  account  of  anything,  and  has  no  possessions. 
He  has  cast  from  him  all  passion  and  all  desire,  and  clings 
neither  to  the  good  nor  to  the  evil.  He  is  at  rest;  under  all 
circumstances  the  same,  silent  like  deep  waters;  and  has 
found  peace,  undying  peace — ^the  unchangeable  state  of 
Nirvana. 

Buddhism  offers  salvation,  not  from  sin  or  hell,  but 
from  sorrow  and  suffering;  yea,  from  life  itself,  which 
is  essentially  evil.  Man  is  delivered  from  the  cycle 
of  rebirths,  the  effect  of  Karma,  by  sinking  quiescent 
into  an  undefined  something  or  nothing — Nirvana. 

Salvation  is  brought  about  by  illumination,  such  as 
Gotama  had  under  the  Bo  Tree.  It  is  an  insight  which 
enables  a  man  to  know  what  always  is,  but,  through 
ignorance  and  delusion,  is  not  discerned.  Without  the 
help  of  God  or  of  men  salvation  is  attained, — attained 
by  self-control  and  self-culture; — a  blend  of  emotional, 
moral,  and  intellectual  elements.  The  relation  of  these 
three  is  defined  in  the  oldest  Suttas,  as  follows: 

Great  is  the  fruit,  great  the  advantage  of  the  rapture  of 
contemplation  when  set  round  with  upright  conduct.  Great 
is  the  fruit,  great  the  advantage  of  intellect  when  set  round 
with  the  rapture  of  contemplation.  The  mind  set  round 

“Dhamma  Pada  vv.  197-204;  Rhys-Davids,  p.  171. 


40 


CHRISTIAN  WAYS  OF  SALVATION 


with  intelFigence  is  set  free  from  the  great  evils,  that  is  to 
say,  from  sensuality,  from  future  life. 

There  is,  undeniably,  in  Buddhism  a  powerful 
ethical  challenge  which  leaves  no  room  for  sacerdotal¬ 
ism,  caste,  or  mechanical  devices  for  deliverance.  In 
this  respect  it  is  an  advance  beyond  the  earlier  stages 
of  religion,  even  beyond  Brahmanism,  but  at  the  cost 
of  belief  in  God,  the  human  soul,  and  immortality. 
Indeed,  Buddhism  recognizes  none  of  the  elements 
which  Max  Muller  ascribes  to  religion  when  he  says: 

The  broad  foundations  on  which  all  religions  are  built  up 
are  belief  in  a  divine  power,  the  acknowledgment  of  sin,  the 
habit  of  prayer,  the  desire  to  offer  sacrifice,  and  the  hope 
of  a  future  life.^^ 

Yet  Buddhism  has  religious  and  moral  value  for  the 
making  of  character.  Mr.  Paul  Hutchinson,  in  an 
article  in  the  Atlantic  Monthly  on  the  “Future  of 
Religion  in  China,^^  says: 

It  is  impossible  to  deny  the  validity  of  the  spiritual  ex¬ 
periences  which  have  come  to  the  Buddhist  saints.  Even 
to-day  the  sympathetic  searcher  will  find  in  the  monasteries 
a  few  sweet  and  simple  spirits,  the  purity  of  whose  lives  and 
the  ardor  of  whose  religious  passion  might  well  be  copied 
by  many  Christians. 

Buddhism  exposes  the  nothingness  and  barrenness 
of  the  sensuous  and  the  selfish  purposes  of  the  natural 
life,  whether  of  the  narrower  personal,  or  the  wider 
national,  egoism.  One  must  stand  in  awe  of  the 
reiterated  demands  for  the  suppression  of  self-will, 
self-assertion,  and  self -pleasing.  “A  man  who  fool¬ 
ishly  does  me  wrong, said  Buddha,  “I  will  return  to 

’‘•“Science  of  Religion”  (1873),  p.  287. 


AMELIORATION  AND  REDEMPTION 


41 


him  the  protection  of  my  ungrudging  love;  the  more 
evil  comes  from  him,  the  more  good  shall  go  from 
me/^ 

Furthermore,  Buddhism  is  unlimited  by  race, 
nationality,  caste,  ritual,  or  locality.  Its  way  of  salva¬ 
tion  and  its  ethical  principles  are  universal  in  their 
scope  and  reach. 

If  grounded  in  virtue  and  careful  in  attention,  whether  in 
the  land  of  the  Skythians  or  the  Greeks,  whether  in  China 
or  in  Tartary,  whether  in  Alexandria  or  Nikumba,  whether 
in  Benares  or  in  Kosala,  whether  in  Kashmir  or  in  Gand- 
hara,  whether  on  a  mountain  or  in  the  highest  heavens, — 
wheresoever  he  may  be,  the  man  who  orders  his  life  aright 
will  realize  Nirvana.^^ 

Buddhism,  however,  ends  with  a  pessimistic  nega¬ 
tion  of  the  world  and  of  life.  It  sees  clearly  that  ‘The 
world  passeth  away  and  the  lust  thereof,”  but  it  is 
blind  to  the  greater  truth  that  he  that  “doeth  the 
will  of  God  abideth  forever.”  Even  the  high  moral 
demands  are  only  a  means  to  an  end — self-extinction, 
the  losing  of  life  without  the  finding  of  it.  The  aim 
of  Buddhism  is  to  escape  suffering ;  not,  to  be  delivered 
from  sin.  The  ultimate  end  of  life  is  not  cooperation 
with  God  for  the  advancement  of  human  welfare,  but 
coalescence  with  God  for  the  attainment  of  personal 
peace  and  rest.  Buddha  cried  unto  his  disciples: 
“Open  your  ears!  deliverance  from  death  is  found.” 
Jesus  said:  “Repent,  the  Kingdom  of  heaven  is  at 
hand.” 

The  motive  of  the  whole  system  is  a  refined  selfish¬ 
ness,  excluding  all  considerations  of  conformity  to  a 
higher  than  human  will,  or  of  responsibility  for  other 

**Dods,  ‘‘Mohammed,  Buddha,  and  Christ,”  p.  172. 

“Questions  of  King  Milinda,”  Pt.  11.  pp.  20^204. 


42 


CHRISTIAN  WAYS  OF  SALVATION 


than  self.  The  only  suggestion  of  altruism  is  found 
in  the  idea  that,  by  the  extinction  of  a  separate  indi¬ 
vidual  existence,  the  sum  of  human  misery  is  corre¬ 
spondingly  decreased,  and  by  the  cessation  of  Karma 
no  new  existence  is  begotten  in  another  form. 

In  its  final  and  highest  form,  Buddhism  has  no 
social  ideal  for  the  realization  of  which  life  is  to  be 
given.  It  despises  work,  woman,  and  wealth,  which 
are  essential  elements  of  a  high  order  of  civilization. 
Since  the  celibate  has  more  virtue  and  less  sorrow  than 
the  married  man,  marriage  itself  is  discouraged.  In 
lands  where  Buddhism  is  most  felt,  one-third  of  the 
population  are  said  to  be  monks. 

The  decisive  factor  is  the  character  of  the  ultimate 
being  that  is  the  source  of  man’s  life.  Is  it  an  im¬ 
penetrable  mystery,  full  of  woe  and  sorrow;  or  is  he 
a  will  of  saving  power,  a  divine  person,  a  God  of  holy 
love?  If  that  being  is  impersonal,  and  if  personality 
is  an  error  and  an  evil  to  be  overcome,  then  Buddhism 
offers  the  ideal  way  of  salvation;  for  it  proposes  the 
submergence  of  finite  being  into  the  infinite  being, 
deliverance  from  separate  existence  by  absolute 
quiescence  of  the  will. 

If  personality  is  the  end  of  life,  its  consummate  form, 
then  Christianity  offers  the  final  and  only  satisfactory 
way  of  salvation.  It  develops  personality,  and  finds 
the  highest  good  in  fellowship  with  a  personal  God 
and  in  the  mutual  cooperation  of  God  and  man  for 
the  realization  of  the  spiritual  and  ethical  ends  of  his 
Kingdom. 


V 

The  traditional  religion  of  Greece  was  rooted  in  the 
writings  of  Homer  and  Hesiod,  and  was  developed  and 


AMELIORATION  AND  REDEMPTION 


43 


purified  by  the  historian  Herodotus  and  by  the  poets, 
Pindar,  ^schylus,  and  Sophocles.  Its  gods — chief 
among  whom  were  Zeus,  Poseidon,  Athene,  and 
Apollo — dwelt  upon  Mount  Olympus;  on  which 
account  it  is  known  as  the  Olympic  religion.  It  was 
a  religion  of  amelioration:  concerned  with  this  world 
alone,  and  especially  with  the  welfare  of  the  state,  of 
which  the  gods  were  guardians  and  patrons.  Through 
their  bounty  the  individual  also  was  the  recipient  of 
temporal  blessings — health  and  beauty,  prosperity  and 
long  life,  and  all  good  things  upon  the  earth.  The 
early  Greek  wished  for  nothing  more.  Beyond  this 
life  there  was  little  to  attract  him.  Achilles  cried: 

had  rather  be  attached  to  the  soil  as  the  serf  of  a 
landless  man  with  a  scanty  living  than  be  king  over 
all  the  wasted  dead’\*  for  in  the  Homeric  Hades  were 
^^Cocytus  and  Styx,  ghosts  under  the  earth  and  sapless 
shades.’’ 

In  worship  there  was  nothing  distinctive.  Professor 
Moore  says: 

Sacrifice  and  offering,  hymn  and  prayer,  expiation  and 
purification,  propitiation  of  the  kindly  gods  and  thanks¬ 
giving  for  their  bounty,  placation  of  the  dreaded  powers  of 
the  nether  world,  riddance  of  demons  and  ghosts, — these  are 
the  components  of  the  cultus,  as  among  other  peoples  on 
the  same  plane  of  civilization  all  over  the  world.^^ 

The  Olympic  ideal  of  life  was  carved  upon  the 
temple  of  Apollo  at  Delphi:  ‘^Nothing  to  excess” 
( fjLTjdh  ayav)  and  ‘^KllOW  thyself”  (yvcodt  aavrov), 
The  supreme  sin  was  arrogance  or  insolence  (ujSpts), 
man’s  presumption  to  exceed  the  bounds  set  for  him 
by  the  gods  and  to  transgress,  or  to  strive  to  become 


“  ‘^History  of  Religions,”  I.  p.  469. 


44 


CHRISTIAN  WAYS  OF  SALVATION 


godlike.  The  gods  in  jealous  wrath  inflicted  sore 
punishment  upon  haughty  transgressors.  Only  as  men 
remain  within  bounds,  will  they  And  favor  and  peace. 
Thus  circumscribed,  they  are  to  cultivate  a  free  dis¬ 
position,  and  develop  a  life  of  harmony,  beauty,  and 
strength.  The  cardinal  virtue  is  <TO)(l)poavv7]  — tem¬ 
perance,  self-control,  poise.  “That  a  man  keep  him¬ 
self  with  voluntary  self-restraint  within  the  narrow 
confines  which  limit  his  ability  to  do  and  to  know,  is 
the  supreme  demand  of  Greek  piety.^’ 


VI 

A  new  conception  of  religion  and  of  salvation  was 
brought  into  Greece  through  the  introduction  of  the 
Orphic  cult.  While  the  time  and  the  way  of  its  en¬ 
trance  into  Greece  are  obscure,  its  presence  in  Athens 
in  the  sixth  century  before  Christ  is  certain.  It  wielded 
formative  influence  upon  the  Eleusinian  and  other 
mysteries,  and  continued  to  dominate  them  from  be¬ 
fore  the  time  of  Herodotus  (490-425)  until  the  sup¬ 
pression  of  secret  rites  by  the  Christian  emperors. 
Aristophanes  proclaimed  Orpheus  as  the  apostolic 
founder  of  all  mysteries.^^ 

Orphism  was  an  attempt  both  to  awaken  and  to 
satisfy  man’s  yearning  for  fellowship  with  God  and 
for  eternal  life.  Its  rise  marks  a  new  era  of  individual¬ 
ism  in  religion;  for  its  concern  was  with  the  personal 
soul  and  its  destiny,  not  with  the  state  and  its  welfare. 
“Contact  with  the  Oriental  spirit  brought  to  many 
[Greeks]  a  stronger  intensity  of  religious  life;  religion 
is  no  longer  preoccupied  with  the  physical  and  political 

“  Rohdy,  “Psyche.” 

“Frogs,”  1032. 


AMELIORATION  AND  REDEMPTION 


45 


world;  its  horizon  lies  beyond  the  grave,  and  its  force 
is  ‘otherworldliness/  Men  flock  to  the  mysteries  seek¬ 
ing  communion  with  the  divinity  by  sacrament,  and 
sustaining  their  faith  by  mystic  dogmas.”  Orphism 
demanded  personal  faith,  personal  initiation,  and, 
through  sacraments  and  rites,  personal  partaking  in 
the  divine  nature.  Ignoring  the  warning  of  the  Olym¬ 
pic  religion  against  seeking  to  become  like  the  gods, 
it  made  ‘^deification”  the  chief  good.  Its  interests  were 
not  in  worldly  goods,  but  in  supernal  blessings.  The 
future  life  was  considered  the  only  true  life,  and 
amounted  to  absorption  in  God. 

The  Orphics  united  in  circles  or  brotherhoods,  not 
unlike  the  early  Christian  congregations.  They  were 
ardent  missionaries.  “The  preachers  of  the  Orphic 
doctrines  in  the  seventh  century,”  says  Farnell,  “are 
the  first  propagandists  or  missionaries  we  can  discover 
in  the  pre-Christian  Mediterranean  world.” 

The  Orphic  way  of  salvation  was  based  upon  a 
theory  of  man’s  nature  unfamiliar  to  native  Greek 
mythology  and  religion.  Man  presumably  is  composed 
of  Titanic  and  Dionysiac  elements,  body  and  soul,  the 
carnal  and  the  divine.  For  the  first  time  in  Greek 
thought,  the  soul  is  conceived  to  be  distinct  from  the 
body,  divine  in  essence,  and  imprisoned  in  the  body — 
o-w/ia-o-^iua^  body-prison. 

Hastings,  “Encj^clopedia  of  Religion  and  Ethics,”  vi;  Farnell, 
“Greek  Religion,”  p.  424. 

““Encyclopedia  of  Religion  and  Ethics,”  Art.  “Greek  Religion,” 

p.  408. 

"The  doctrine  of  the  imprisonment  and  the  divinity  of  the  soul 
was  taught  in  the  fifth  century  by  Empedocles  of  Agrigentum.  He 
wandered  through  Sicily  as  miracle-worker  and  soothsayer.  He 
claimed  to  be  “an  immortal  God,  no  longer  a  mortal  man.  Here 
on  earth  he  felt  himself  an  exile  in  a  bad  land  seeking  the  joy  and 
blessedness  of  the  gods.” — Tiele,  “Kompendium,”  4.  Aufl.  p.  432. 

“The  conception  of  an  immaterial  soul  and  the  corresponding  con- 


46 


CHRISTIAN  WAYS  OF  SALVATION 


The  problem  of  salvation  is  to  purge  the  soul  of 
its  carnal  stains,  to  free  it  from  the  shackles  of  the 
body,  so  that  at  death  it  will  return  to  God,  to  the 
spirit  of  which  it  is  a  part.  The  blessed  hope  is  not, 
as  in  the  Homeric  Elysium,  upon  earth,  but  on  high  in 
the  realm  of  deity.  The  soul,  however,  cannot  at  once 
or  by  its  own  effort  obtain  release.  Death  alone  dis¬ 
solves  the  union  and  liberates  it  from  the  body;  and 
then  only  for  a  short  time.  For  the  soul  assumes  a 
new  body,  human  or  animal,  and  continues  its  wander¬ 
ings  through  the  long  ‘^circle  of  necessity.’^  Hopeless 
the  ^Vheel  of  births’^  turns  round. 

Yet,  there  is  hope  of  deliverance:  but  man,  blind 
and  thoughtless,  cannot  find  it;  yea,  can  hardly  turn 
to  salvation  when  it  is  at  hand.  The  grace  of  the 
^Tedeeming  gods’"  (Qeol  \vaLOL )  will  save  men  from 
the  round  of  births  (  KukXos  rijs  yeveaecos )  and  from 
endless  suffering.  Dionysus  will  deliver  those  who 
revere  him  from  misery  and  endless  suffering.  The 
self-reliance  of  the  ancient  Hellene  is  gone.  In  place 
of  it  has  come  dependence  upon  revelations,  media¬ 
tions,  prescriptions,  lustrations,  through  which  men 
are  redeemed. 

The  primary  condition  of  the  Orphic  life  is  ascet¬ 
icism  and  purification.  The  devotees  are  met  on  every 
side  by  prohibitions  and  admonitions — ‘‘Thou  shalt 
not”  and  “Thou  shalt.”  They  are  required  to  abstain 
from  meat,  certain  fish,  eggs,  beans,  and  from  contact 
with  death  or  birth.  A  follower  of  Bacchus  sings  in 
Euripides: 

ception  of  an  immaterial  God  have  their  origin  in  Plato.  He  is 
also  the  first  to  undertake  to  prove  the  immortality  of  the  soul, 
as  we  understand  those  words,  in  distinction  from  the  survival  of  a 
ghostly  double  or  shade,”  Moore,  ‘‘History  of  Religions,”  I.  pp. 
501-502. 


AMELIORATION  AND  REDEMPTION 


47 


I  am  free  and  am  called  by  the  priest  in  Ornat  a  Bacchant; 
Clothed  in  white  garments  I  flee  from  the  birth  of  the  mortal 
and  touch  no  coffin; 

I  have  refused  all  nourishment  that  has  life  in  it.^® 

There  are  also  ceremonial  prescriptions  for  baths, 
lustrations,  and  consecrations  for  purging  the  soul  of 
all  impurities  contracted  from  the  body  or  by  contact 
with  evil  and  death.  The  Orphics  call  themselves 
^The  pure,’’  but  their  purity  is  of  the  ceremonial  kind. 
There  is  also  positive  participation  in  the  life  of  a  god 
through  drinking  of  the  blood  and  eating  of  the  raw 
flesh  of  a  sacred  animal  in  whom  the  spirit  of  the  deity 
resides.^^  There  is  no  demand  for  moral  discipline 
and  transformation,  or  for  civic  virtues.  Since  the  sole 
aim  is  to  be  freed  from  the  body  and  from  the  material 
world,  and  to  return  to  God,  there  is  no  moral  purpose, 
no  reason  for  a  moral  life.  Conduct  is  not  considered 
as  influencing  the  destiny  of  the  initiate,  or  even  as 
conciliating  the  divinity  invoked.  Even  purity  is  not 
an  end  in  itself,  but  only  a  means  of  reaching  union 
with  God.  Diogenes  sarcastically  asked:  ^Will  the 
robber  Pataikon,  because  he  was  initiated,  fare  better 
after  death  than  Epaminondas?”  The  sum  of  morals 

^  The  adept  is  “set  free  and  named  a  Bacchus  of  the  mailed  priests 
robed  in  pure  white,  clean  from  man’s  birth  and  coffined  clay  (i.e., 
from  the  pollutions  of  birth  and  death),  while  from  his  lips  is 
ever  banished  touch  of  meat  where  life  hath  been.”  Quoted  from 
Euripides  by  Porphyry,  “De  Abstinentia/’  IV.  19. 

^The  maenads  threw  themselves  upon  the  sacrificial  animal,  tore 
pieces  from  its  trembling  body  and  devoured  them  with  the 
blood, — the  primitive  form  of  the  later  spiritual  eating  and  drinking 
in  the  mysteries  of  Orpheus,  Eleusis,  or  Mithra.  Whether  later 
ethical  demands  were  made  upon  the  initiated  is  questionable.  See 
Rohdy,  I.  p.  294  sq. 

^  Legge,  “Forerunners  and  Rivals  of  Christianity,”  I.  p.  146.  For 
more  favorable  estimate  of  the  moral  value  of  the  mysteries,  see 
Case,  “The  Evolution  of  Early  Chrisianity,”  p.  290  sq,;  also  “En- 
cvclonedia  of  Religion  and  Ethics,”  VI.  p.  408. 


48 


CHRISTIAN  WAYS  OF  SALVATION 


is  turning  to  God ;  turning  away,  not  from  moral  errors 
in  our  earthly  life,  but  from  the  earthly  existence  itself. 
^ ^Whether  the  Orphics  originally  demanded  from  their 
followers  any  moral  as  well  as  material  purification 
cannot  now  be  said ;  but  the  proceedings  of  the 
Orpheotelestse  show  us  how  very  early  in  their  teach¬ 
ing  all  such  ideas  were  dropped,  and  the  magical  theory 
of  the  efl&cacy  of  the  mysteries  as  a  means  of  salvation 
came  to  outweigh  everything  else  in  the  eyes  of  the 
votaries.” 

After  death  the  ^finitiates”  enter  an  intermediate 
state.  In  Hades  justice  is  dispensed.  Those  who 
were  not  purified  by  Orphic  orgies  are  condemned  to 
be  in  the  pool  of  misery.  In  the  words  of  Plato,  ^^he 
who  arrives  in  Hades  uninitiated  and  without  having 
participated  in  the  mysteries,  he  is  in  filth.”  The 
consecrated  and  purified  will  dwell  in  happy  fellow¬ 
ship  with  the  gods  of  the  deep.  There  is  the  “feast  of 
the  pure,”  and  there  they  enjoy  uninterrupted  intoxi¬ 
cation.  The  fate  of  man  in  the  future  depends  upon 
initiation  into  the  mystery  here;  the  initiated  receive 
the  rewards  of  holiness  and  righteousness,  the  un¬ 
initiated  are  punished  as  the  unholy  and  unrighteous. 

The  sanctified  soul  does  not  remain  in  Hades  or 
continue  in  endless  transmigrations.  He  is  freed  from 
rebirths  and  from  repeated  deaths;  rises  above  the 
earth,  perchance  to  the  moon,  the  stars,  or  to  other 
far-off  worlds.  There  he  becomes  divine  and  lives 
with  gods.  According  to  one  of  the  earliest  concep¬ 
tions,  harking  back  to  the  religion  of  nature,  “he  has 
sunk  back  into  the  lap  of  the  Mother-goddess.”  This 
is  attained  through  the  disclosure  of  the  hidden  con¬ 
stitution  and  purpose  of  nature  by  participation  in 

^  Moore,  I.  p.  448. 


AMELIORATION  AND  REDEMPTION 


49 


secret  rites,  and  through  the  possession  of  mysterious 
names  and  formulas  which  have  magical  power.  Thus 
men  are  released  from  this  body  of  death  and  the 
circle  of  rebirths,  and  transformed  into  companions  of 
the  gods.  ^^God  thou  becomest;  no  longer  mortalT 

VII 

Another  way  of  salvation  was  proposed  by  Plato, — 
the  way  of  self-conquest  of  the  will  guided  by  reason. 
Unlike  the  mysteries,  which  were  imported,  the  way 
of  philosophy  was  a  native  Greek  product. 

The  mystical  and  “enthusiastic”  explanation  of  the 
world  was  never  without  its  apostles  in  Greece,  though  the 
main  current  of  speculation,  as  directed  by  Athens,  set 
steadily  contrariwise,  in  the  line  of  getting  bit  by  bit  at  the 
meaning  of  things  through  hard  thinking.®^ 

Plato  discerned  an  ideal  world,  different  in  principle 
from  the  social  and  political  order  of  Athens.  The 
conduct  of  “the  many” — who,  devoid  of  sincerity  and 
truth,  are  impelled  by  carnal  desires  and  swayed  by 
caprice — excited  his  wrath.  For  him  the  external 
world,  with  its  rules  and  regulations,  had  lost  all 
validity.  In  the  light  of  his  vision  of  the  eternally 
true  and  good, — which  are  based  not  upon  wavering 
opinion,  but  upon  immutable  ideas  inherent  in  the 
nature  of  things, — ^he  projected  his  ideal  man  and  his 
ideal  state,  i,e,,  men  and  society  as  they  ought  to  be, 
not  as  they  are.  They  must  conform  to  truth  and 
goodness;  which  cannot  be  seen,  save  with  the  eye 
of  the  spirit.  Man’s  reason  is  aided  by  heavenly  love, 
a  kind  of  divine  madness  which  uplifts  him  into  the 

“  Gilbert  Murray,  “The  Literature  of  Ancient  Greece,”  p.  68. 


50 


CHRISTIAN  WAYS  OF  SALVATION 


luminous  realm  of  ideas,  to  the  true,  the  beautiful,  and 
the  good.  In  his  “Phsedrus,”  Plato  says:  ^There  is  a 
madness  which  is  the  special  gift  of  heaven,  and  the 
source  of  the  chief est  blessing  among  men.  For 
prophecy  is  a  madness,  and  the  prophetess  at  Delphi 
and  the  priestesses  of  Dodona  when  out  of  their  senses 
have  conferred  great  benefits  on  Hellas,  but  when  in 
their  senses  few  or  none.”  True  and  noble  existence 
belongs  to  this  world  of  ideas  alone.  The  material  and 
sensuous  world  is  only  an  imperfect  shadow  of  the 
true  world.  This  is  the  controlling  idea  of  his  philoso¬ 
phy  and  religion.  Chagrined  and  disheartened  by  the 
indifference  and  opposition  of  the  multitude,  and  by 
the  futility  and  worthlessness  of  public  life,  he  dwelt 
apart  and  sought  to  live  in  the  world  of  truth  and 
justice. 

Man  springs  from  the  supersensible  world,  but  he 
has  fallen  into  the  material  world;  whether  of  his  own 
guilt  or  of  necessity,  is  in  dispute.  While  upon  the 
earth,  he  is  held  as  a  prisoner  in  the  body,  half-dream¬ 
ing,  half-waking;  and  sees  with  blurred  vision  the 
shadowy  figures  hovering  around  him, — men  as  trees 
walking.  He  is  in  the  bondage  of  ignorance  and  lust; 
not  of  moral  evil,  but  of  the  material  world.  He  is 
composed  of  body  and  soul ;  the  soul  has  a  rational  and 
a  carnal  side,  and  in  its  better  moments  yearns  for  the 
enjoyment  of  eternal  values.  ^Tlato  looks  upon  life  as 
a  struggle  of  reason  with  lust,  a  struggle  in  which  the 
nobler  impulses  of  the  heart  are  on  the  side  of  rea¬ 
son.”  Yet  one  may  be  dragged  down  by  desires  and 
appetites;  reason  may  be  dethroned,  and  a  life  of  in¬ 
justice  (adLKia)^  discord,  and  misery  follow.  The  evil 

'Thaedrus,”  244  (Jowett’s  trans.). 

^Paulsen,  “A  System  of  Ethics/’  Eng.  trans.,  p.  47. 


AMELIORATION  AND  REDEMPTION 


51 


life  continues  after  death,  by  transmigration  into  cor¬ 
responding  bodily  forms,  at  each  stage  more  and  more 
degraded. 

The  soul  controlled  by  reason  subdues  the  appetites 
of  the  lower  nature,  and  conforms  its  life  to  truth  and 
goodness.  The  just  man  is  one  who  realizes  the  ideal, 
his  divine  vocation  and  destiny.  Even  in  this  life  a 
good  man  becomes  relatively  free;  and  after  death  the 
spirit,  freed  from  error,  fear,  passion,  and  other  human 
ills,  will  mount  upwards  and  dwell  in  the  abode  of 
light.  The  primary  object  of  man’s  quest  is  virtue, 
which  is  obtained  through  knowledge:  ^^all  the  gold 
above  and  beneath  the  earth  does  not  outweigh  vir¬ 
tue.”  The  life  of  the  wise  man  is  a  constant  flight 
from  the  sphere  of  the  sensuous;  and  is,  therefore,  a 
preparation  for  death,  through  which  the  soul  reaches 
its  true  life.  This  deliverance  from  the  present  order 
and  union  with  the  spiritual  world  beyond  is  to  be 
striven  for  in  all  possible  ways: — theoretically,  through 
the  abstraction  of  thinking;  practically,  through  the 
desensualizing  of  the  will;  and  mystically,  through 
ecstasy  of  feeling.^^  Philosophy  is,  accordingly,  the 
highest  function  of  life.  With  its  aid  men  raise  them¬ 
selves  by  thought  and  struggle  out  of  the  limits  of  the 
senses  into  the  eternal  world  of  spirit. 

In  his  ^^Republic”  Plato  describes  the  ideal  state, 
which  saves  him  from  coming  wholly  under  the  ascetic 
principle  that  inheres  in  his  ideal  of  the  personal 
life.^®  The  social  order  itself  may  be  brought  under 

Pfleiderer,  ‘‘Philosophy  and  Development  of  Religion,”  Eng. 
trans.,  I.  p.  240. 

There  were  in  reality  two  conceptions  of  life  in  Plato.  As  a 
reformer,  he  faced  life  and  its  institutions  with  the  purpose  of  trans¬ 
forming  them;  as  a  mj’^stic  and  pessimist,  he  turned  from  the 
material  order  to  asceticism  and  philosophic  speculation  (•d'EtoQia), 
attended  with  ecstasy. 


52 


CHRISTIAN  WAYS  OF  SALVATION 


the  control  of  the  true  and  the  good.  The  state  is  to 
be  ruled  by  the  wise  man,  the  philosopher.  Kings 
must  be  philosophers,  and  philosophers  must  be  kings. 
The  political  life  must  be  delivered  from  the  arbitrary 
opinions  and  the  caprice  of  the  people,  and  be  based 
upon  permanent  principles  demonstrable  by  reason. 
All  the  elements  of  the  state  must  be  coordinated  and 
controlled  by  wisdom,  which  alone  will  develop  har¬ 
mony  and  symmetry, — the  essence  of  personal  and  po¬ 
litical  virtue.  The  same  fundamental  traits  that  ap¬ 
pear  in  the  life  of  a  just  man,  appear  also  in  the  just 
state,  which  is  a  man  on  a  large  scale. 

This  is  humanism  in  a  highly  refined  form.  It  is 
the  redemption  from  an  irrational  order  of  life  to  a 
rational;  from  the  empirical  to  the  ideal;  from  the 
temporal  to  the  eternal.  The  power  of  salvation  re¬ 
sides  in  the  intellect,  which  directs  the  will.  To  live 
normally  is  to  live  in  harmony  with  the  transcendent 
reason  and  to  be  in  the  way  of  redemption.  Any  real 
union  of  religion  and  morality  is  lacking.  The  essen¬ 
tial  thing  which  religion  offers  is  independent  of  good 
and  evil.  In  substance  Plato  agrees  with  the  Stoics 
and  the  Greek  philosophers  generally,  who  teach  that 
man  is  to  win  the  victory  without  a  spiritual  helper 
through  the  power  of  his  own  spirit,  which  will  uphold 
the  wise  man  in  conflict  with  the  sensuous  and  sinful 
world  about  him.  The  Stoic  taught  that  it  is  divine 
to  be  sufficient  unto  oneself  and  to  be  moved  by  no 
affection,  not  even  by  love.®^ 

The  various  methods  of  redemption  used  by  the 
Greeks  failed.  Neither  Zeus,  Orpheus,  nor  Plato; 
neither  sacrifice,  asceticism,  nor  philosophy,  could 
put  at  rest  the  ever-deepening  sense  of  sin  voiced  by 


Seneca,  Epp.,  41, 


AMELIORATION  AND  REDEMPTION 


53 


Seneca, — peccavimus  omnes,  ^Ve  all  have  sinned.’’ 
The  divine  imperative,  ^Thou  shalt,”  was  answered 
with  the  human  confession,  can’t” ; — the  last  result 
of  a  thousand  years  of  Greek  religion  and  ethics.  Hel¬ 
lenic  piety  seems  to  have  reached  the  point  at  which 
Brahmanism  was  when  Buddha  came.  Redemption 
came  to  the  Greeks  only  through  Christ. 

Retracing  our  steps  from  animism  to  Platonism,  we 
find  the  outcome  of  the  religious  life  and  thought  of 
the  nations  to  have  been :  ( 1 )  that  the  present  natural 
life  is  unsatisfactory;  (2)  that  mere  amelioration  of 
the  present  order  is  inadequate;  (3)  that  there  is  a 
transcendent  order — an  eternal  above  the  temporal, 
an  ideal  above  the  real,  a  future  ahead  of  the  present ; 
(4)  that  the  lower  must,  in  one  form  or  another,  be 
relinquished  to  reach  the  higher;  (5)  that  redemption 
of  some  kind  is  necessary;  (6)  that  efforts  at  redemp¬ 
tion  have  been  made  by  personal  struggle,  by  divine 
act,  or  by  cooperation  of  God  and  man;  (7)  that  re¬ 
demption  is  thought  of  now  as  national,  and  then  as 
individual;  (8)  that  men  at  a  certain  stage  arrive  at 
the  idea  of  a  Savior  God;  (9)  that  men  think  of  sal¬ 
vation  as  deliverance  of  the  group,  or  of  the  individual 
apart  from  the  group.  These  ideas  were  widely  preva¬ 
lent  when  Jesus  came. 


•> 


i 


r. 


II 


CHRISTIAN  WAYS  OF  SALVATION 


II 


CHRISTIAN  WAYS  OF  SALVATION 

CHAPTER  III 

THE  WAY  OF  JESUS 

‘‘Salvation  is  from  the  Jews.”  These  words  to  the 
Samaritan  woman  define  both  the  highest  hope  of 
Israel  and  the  deepest  meaning  of  its  history.  Paul 
said  substantially  the  same  thing  when  he  wrote  to 
the  Romans  about  the  “Israelites,  whose  is  the  adop¬ 
tion,  and  the  glory,  and  the  covenants,  and  the  giving 
of  the  law,  and  the  service  of  God,  and  the  promises; 
whose  are  the  fathers,  and  of  whom  is  Christ  as  con¬ 
cerning  the  flesh,  who  is  over  all,  God  blessed  for 
ever”  (Romans  9:4,  5). 

Jesus  himself  felt  that  he  was  heir  to  the  noblest 
religious  traditions  of  his  people.  He  came  to  fulfil, 
not  to  destroy,  the  law  or  the  prophets  (Matthew 
5:17).  He  did  not  profess  to  reveal  a  new  God,  but 
acknowledged  the  God  of  Abraham,  and  the  God  of 
Isaac,  and  the  God  of  Jacob  (Matthew  22:32;  Mark 
12:26).  He  nurtured  his  soul  on  the  Scriptures  of  the 
Old  Testament,  and  frequently  appealed  to  them  in  his 
preaching  and  teaching  (Mark  12:26).  “These  are 
they  which  bear  witness  of  me”  (John  5:39).  He 
recognized  the  historical  continuity  between  him  and 
those  who  preceded  him:  “Others  have  labored,  and 
ye  are  entered  into  their  labor”  (John  4:38).  Neither 
he  nor  his  followers  thought  of  founding  a  new  re- 

57 


58 


CHRISTIAN  WAYS  OF  SALVATION 


ligion,  nor  of  forsaking  the  way  of  salvation  pursued  by 
patriot  and  martyr,  saint  and  seer,  of  Israel’s  lineage. 
They  would  have  turned  with  horror  from  the  idea  of 
breaking  with  the  past,  for  they  believed  themselves 
to  be  its  heirs  and  its  fruit.  Yet  none  was  satisfied 
with  present  attainments,  and  all  had  their  faces  set 
toward  the  future. 

While  Jesus  was  in  conscious  harmony  with  the  law 
and  the  prophets,  he  none  the  less  felt  himself  superior 
to  them.  He  that  fulfills  is  greater  than  that  which  is 
fulfilled.  The  things  which  prophets  and  kings  desired 
to  see  and  hear,  but  saw  and  heard  not,  he  made  mani¬ 
fest  (Luke  10:24).  He  felt  that  he  was  beginning  a 
new  era  in  the  religious  history  of  the  race.  In  the 
synagogue  at  Nazareth  he  boldly,  yet  not  presump¬ 
tuously,  cried:  ^‘To-day  hath  this  scripture  been  ful¬ 
filled  in  your  ears”  (Luke  4:21).  He  never  pointed 
men  to  one  to  come  after  him,  but  invited  them  to 
come  unto  him  and  find  rest  (Matthew  11:28). 

The  salvation  which  Jesus  proclaimed  was  deeply 
rooted  in  more  than  a  thousand  years  of  his  nation’s 
history.  First  the  blade,  then  the  ear,  and  then  the 
full  corn  in  the  ear.  A  long  historical  process  came  to 
fruition  in  Jesus.  Through  his  Church  the  best  results 
of  this  process  have  become  the  permanent  possession 
of  the  race  and  are  to-day  a  potent  influence  in  the 
world’s  life.  To  understand  his  mission  and  message, 
we  must  approach  him  in  the  light  of  the  origin  and  de¬ 
velopment  of  the  salvation  which  came  from  the  Jews 
and  which  he  himself  proclaimed  in  its  complete  and 
final  form. 

I 

The  beginning  of  salvation  was  an  act  of  Jehovah 
in  behalf  of  a  group  of  tribes  that  came  from  Egypt 


THE  WAY  OF  JESUS 


59 


by  way  of  Arabia  into  Palestine.  They  were  united  by 
the  common  conviction  that  they  owed  their  deliver¬ 
ance  from  slavery  and  their  entrance  into  Canaan  to 
the  power  and  the  goodness  of  Jehovah.  This  expe¬ 
rience  of  redemption  became  the  basis  of  their  national 
life.  The  controlling  motive  of  their  future  history, 
with  all  its  victories  and  defeats,  was  the  redemptive 
purpose  of  God.  They  experienced  salvation  long  be¬ 
fore  they  defined  it.  For  only  gradually,  through  the 
discipline  of  life,  did  Israel  learn  to  understand  the 
character  and  aim  of  their  God.  Centuries  elapsed 
before  the  historian  was  able  to  describe,  with  pro¬ 
phetic  insight  and  in  religious  terms,  their  deliverance 
from  bondage,  and  the  birth  of  their  nation,  in  words 
like  these:  ‘^And  the  Lord  said,  I  have  surely  seen  the 
affliction  of  my  people  which  are  in  Egypt,  and  have 
heard  their  cry  by  reason  of  their  taskmasters;  for  I 
know  their  sorrows;  and  I  am  come  down  to  deliver 
them  out  of  the  hand  of  the  Egyptians.  .  .  .  Come 
now  therefore,  and  I  will  send  thee  unto  Pharaoh,  that 
thou  mayest  bring  forth  my  people  the  children  of 
Israel  out  of  Egypt’’  (Exodus  3:7-10).  So  great  a 
salvation  could  be  celebrated  only  in  song,  the  song 
of  Moses:  will  sing  unto  the  Lord,  for  he  hath 

triumphed  gloriously;  the  horse  and  his  rider  hath  he 
thrown  into  the  sea.  The  Lord  is  my  strength  and 
song,  and  he  is  become  my  salvation”  (Exodus  15:1,  2). 

In  its  inception  the  salvation  of  Israel  was  social 
and  political  in  character:  the  individual  was  saved 
as  a  part  of  the  nation.  Jehovah  preserved  the  in¬ 
tegrity  and  independence  of  his  people,  gave  them  vic¬ 
tory  in  war,  blessed  them  with  peace  and  plenty.  In 
the  words  of  Samuel,  Jehovah  ^‘himself  saved  you  out 
of  your  adversities  and  tribulations”  (I  Samuel  10:19). 


60 


CHRISTIAN  WAYS  OF  SALVATION 


The  new  relation  between  him  and  his  people  was 
expressed  in  terms  of  a  covenant.  Jehovah  pledged 
fidelity  to  the  people,  and  the  people  pledged  loyalty 
to  God.  He,  accordingly,  continues  to  save  Israel  in 
its  troubles,  needs,  and  disasters,  and  seeks  to  bend 
Israel  to  his  purposes.  Israel,  notwithstanding  the 
vicissitudes  of  national  life,  continually  reverts  to  the 
covenant  and  cleaves  to  the  faithfulness  of  Jehovah. 
He  will  not  leave  nor  forsake  his  people,  for  they  are 
the  objects  of  his  love.  Israel,  through  the  discipline 
of  life  under  the  guiding  hand  of  God,  gradually  gains 
insight  into  his  character  and  understands  his  aims. 

The  crisis  in  the  religious  development  of  the  nation 
was  to  be  the  question  of  its  ability  or  inability  to 
advance  to  an  ethical  conception  of  God  and  salvation. 
If  Jehovah  is  regarded  as  merely  protecting  his  people 
against  enemies  and  providing  prosperity  and  peace 
and  all  good  things  of  the  temporal  life,  then  he  is  no 
more  to  Israel  than  Chemosh  to  Moab,  and  the  nation 
in  its  religious  ideals  will  remain  on  a  level  with 
Assyria  and  Egypt. 

History  tells  us  that,  after  the  vast  majority  failed 
in  moral  discernment,  Israel  gradually  approached  its 
doom.  There  was  a  remnant,  however,  the  true  Israel, 
who,  under  the  leadership  of  the  prophets,  were 
obedient  to  the  ethical  vision  of  God  and  his  salvation. 
They  proclaimed  righteousness,  obedience  to  the  di¬ 
vine  will,  as  the  condition  of  God’s  favor  and  the  mark 
of  his  presence  and  of  national  welfare.  ‘^Behold  to 
obey  is  better  than  sacrifice”  (I  Samuel  15:22;  also 
Amos,  7:10-13;  Hosea  14:  1-3;  Isaiah  7  and  8).  Even 
though  disaster  threatened  the  nation,  the  prophets 
warned  the  people  and  their  rulers  against  a  false  re¬ 
liance  on  material  resources,  political  diplomacy,  and 


THE  WAY  OF  JESUS 


61 


ritualistic  performances.  They  preached  obedience  to 
God,  social  justice,  and  personal  purity,  as  the  only 
hope  of  the  nation.  ^‘He  hath  shewed  thee,  0  man, 
what  is  good;  and  what  doth  Jehovah  require  of  thee, 
but  to  do  justly,  and  to  love  kindness,  and  to  walk 
humbly  with  thy  God?’’  (Micah  6:8). 

No  wonder  the  kings  and  priests  rose  up  in  indig¬ 
nation  against  the  prophets.  Amaziah,  the  priest  of 
Bethel,  sent  to  Jeroboam,  king  of  Israel,  saying, 
^^Amos  hath  conspired  against  thee  in  the  midst  of 
the  house  of  Israel :  the  land  is  not  able  to  bear  all  his 
words”  (Amos  7:10).  Amos  and  the  prophets  who 
proclaimed  Israel’s  salvation  upon  ethical  conditions 
went  directly  contrary  to  the  political  ambitions  and 
programs  of  kings  and  their  counselors.  Consequently 
they  were  denounced  as  traitors,  as  both  unpatriotic 
and  impious.  This  tension  between  an  ever-growing 
and  degenerating  secular  majority  and  a  hard-pressed 
but  resolute  spiritual  minority  continued  until  the 
exile.  Then  the  political  fabric  was  shattered  and 
ruined,  and  the  political  history  of  Israel  closed. 
Though  the  state  perished,  the  remnant,  the  suffering 
servants,  the  people  of  Jehovah,  survived;  not,  how¬ 
ever,  without  sharing  the  sorrows  of  those  whose  igno¬ 
rance  and  disobedience  made  judgment  inevitable. 
Their  fate  is  immortalized  in  the  fifty-third  chapter  of 
Isaiah :  ^^He  was  wounded  for  our  transgressions, 
he  was  bruised  for  our  iniquities”  (verse  5).  Their 
ultimate  triumph  was  assured:  ‘^He  shall  see  of  the 
travail  of  his  soul  and  shall  be  satisfied”  (verse  11). 

In  the  literature  of  the  national  period  of  Israel  the 
world  has  a  rich  heritage.  We  have  the  picture  of  a 
nation  of  which  God  is  head  and  indwelling  life;  of 
righteousness  in  its  social  applications  and  connected 


62 


CHRISTIAN  WAYS  OF  SALVATION 


vitally  with  the  divine  presence.  Davidson,  in  his 
article  on  Prophecy,^  says: 

Yahweh  chose  a  nation  because  his  idea  of  mankind,  of 
which  he  will  be  God,  is  that  of  a  social  organism.  It  is  this 
organism  of  which  He  is  God.  But  though  the  relation 
might  seem  to  be  with  the  ideal  unity,  it  operated  in  dis¬ 
posing  all  the  parts,  making  up  the  unity,  rightly  to  one 
another.  And  in  this  way  each  individual  felt  Yahweh  to 
be  his  God. 

This  conception  of  a  religious  nation  and  of  social 
salvation  is  the  contribution  of  pre-exilic  Israel  to  the 
spiritual  progress  of  the  race.  Israel  failed  to  realize 
it ;  but  the  ideal  will  live  on,  and  will  claim  recognition 
in  any  future  conception  of  salvation  that  is  to  be 
satisfactory  and  complete. 

The  fall  and  captivity  of  Israel  were  not  without 
compensation.  The  state  was  gone,  but  with  it  also 
passed  away  the  political  conception  of  salvation,  with 
its  false  trust  in  horses  and  chariots,  diplomacy  and 
alliances,  wealth  and  splendor.  God  remained  and 
watched  over  his  own,  even  in  exile;  and  to  have  him 
was  life  and  salvation.  But  even  now  there  was  a 
sifting  of  wheat  from  chaff,  of  the  true  Israel  from 
the  false;  for  many  turned  from  Jehovah  and  went 
after  strange  gods  in  a  foreign  land. 

The  remnant  of  the  faithful  were  chastened  and 
matured.  They  experienced  salvation  in  a  new  form. 
Jehovah  wrote  his  law  upon  their  hearts,  entered  into 
a  new  covenant  with  them,  and  tabernacled  among 
them.  He  dealt  now  with  the  individual,  not  as  a  part 
of  Israel,  but  as  a  human  being,  according  to  his  needs 
and  possibilities.  He  holds  each  one  personally 
responsible  for  his  deeds.  “Every  one  shall  die  for 

^  Hastings,  “Bible  Dictionary,”  IV.  120. 


THE  WAY  OF  JESUS 


63 


his  own  iniquity:  every  man  that  eateth  the  sour 
grapes,  his  teeth  shall  be  set  on  edge”  (Jeremiah 
31:30;  also  Ezekiel  3:16-21;  18:1-32;  23:10-20). 
Out  of  faithful  individuals  he  created  a  holy  com¬ 
munity,  freed  from  idolatry  and  owning  Jehovah 
alone  as  Savior  and  Lord.  They  are  called  the  ser¬ 
vant  ^  of  Jehovah,  and  their  task  is  to  rebuild  Jerusa¬ 
lem  and  to  teach  all  nations  the  knowledge  and  service 
of  the  true  God.^  Through  their  sufferings,  patiently 
endured,  Jehovah’s  name  will  be  exalted  and  his  char¬ 
acter  vindicated.  He  will  ^^give  unto  them  a  garland 
for  ashes,  the  oil  of  joy  for  mourning,  the  garment  of 
praise  for  the  spirit  of  heaviness”  (Isaiah  61:3).  They 
are  finding  salvation  that  endures  through  the  dissolu¬ 
tion  of  all  the  forms  of  life  which  once  seemed  indis¬ 
pensable  to  their  well-being.  It  rests  upon  man’s 
obedience  to  the  holy  will  of  Jehovah  and  unwavering 
confidence  in  his  power  and  faithfulness. 

‘^This  individual  salvation  of  the  exile  is  the  comple¬ 
ment  of  the  social  salvation  of  the  pre-exilic  period. 
Israel  has  made  the  experiment  for  humanity.  A  social 
salvation  that  is  not  rooted  in  a  personal  covenant 
with  God  is  imperfect  and  insecure.”  ^  In  the  words 
of  Goodspeed:  ^ 

The  outcome  of  the  era  of  divine  grace  was  for  the  exilic 
seers  the  holy  community  in  its  various  aspects.  But  now, 
out  of  the  community,  at  its  head,  raised  up  and  glorified 
by  Jehovah,  appears  the  holy  individual.  His  character¬ 
istic  marks  are  humility,  righteousness,  and  service;  by 
which  he  leads  his  people  on  to  their  supreme  achievement. 

^Isaiah  41:8;  44:1;  49:3. 

“Isaiah  42:1-7;  49:5,  6;  49:1. 

*T.  B.  Kilpatrick,  Art.  “Salvation,”  Hastings,  “Encyclopedia  of 
Religion  and  Ethics,”  XI.  p.  114. 

““Israel’s  Messianic  Hope,”  p,  230. 


64 


CHRISTIAN  WAYS  OF  SALVATION 


The  promise  of  the  exile  of  a  deeper,  richer,  more 
inward  and  spiritual  life  was  not  fully  realized  in  the 
centuries  which  followed.  In  place  of  the  pre-exilic 
state  came  the  post-exilic  church,  an  ecclesiastical, 
instead  of  a  political,  fabric.  The  one  was  no  more 
congenial  than  the  other  to  the  development  of  the 
higher  religious  life.  Ceremonialism  and  legalism 
checked  the  freedom  of  the  spirit.  Priest  and  scribe 
dominated  the  mind  and  heart  of  the  people.  The 
law  tended  to  become  a  burden  that  oppressed,  rather 
than  an  inspiration  that  uplifted.  Salvation  was 
sought  by  punctilious  observance  of  precepts,  instead 
of  by  faith.  Withal,  the  sense  of  God’s  nearness  and 
accessibility  died  away.  He  was  exalted  so  far  above 
men  that  man’s  essential  kinship  with  him  was  lost 
sight  of,  and  the  capacity  of  human  nature  for  divine 
fellowship  was  ignored.  This  conception  of  God  and 
salvation  was  the  root  of  bigotry  and  intolerance. 
The  bearers  of  it  become  not  saviors,  but  tyrants,  of 
men. 

Yet,  again,  there  was  a  remnant  in  Judaism  who 
were  the  heirs  of  the  prophetic  ideal.  They  were  not 
satisfied  with  ritual  and  law,  for  these  failed  to  meet 
the  deepest  longings  of  the  heart.  They  were  the  true 
Israel,  the  servant  of  the  Lord,  and  out  of  the  heart 
of  their  experience  arose  the  final  redemption  of  man. 
The  devotional  literature  of  this  period  bears  witness 
to  the  depth  and  intensity  of  their  religious  life,  and 
to  this  day  is  spiritual  food  for  men.  Deeply  conscious 
of  the  needs  of  the  soul,  for  which  the  current  legalism 
and  Pharisaism  were  inadequate,  they  looked  forward, 
and  waited  for  the  consolation  of  Israel. 

Surveying  Israel’s  history  as  a  whole,  we  find,  in 
the  beginning,  Hebrew  tribes  breaking  into  Palestine 


THE  WAY  OF  JESUS 


65 


in  the  power  of  a  recent  deliverance;  and,  at  the  end, 
a  remnant  of  disciplined  souls  who  poured  forth  in  the 
Psalms  their  confessions  and  aspirations,  having  made 
the  discovery  that,  in  the  stress  of  life,  the  human 
spirit  cannot  stay  itself  upon  any  form  political,  ritual, 
or  intellectual,  but  only  upon  God,  obeyed  and  trusted 
to  the  last  limit  of  a  surrendered  will.® 

In  the  two  centuries  before  the  coming  of  Christ 
the  apocalytic  literature  was  developed  to  a  high  de¬ 
gree.  It  was  closely  related  to  the  political  and  social 
conditions  of  the  period.  The  age  was  one  of  decay. 
Ancient  civilizations,  Semitic  and  Hellenic,  were  worn 
out.  The  evil,  shameless,  and  violent  traits  of  human 
nature  were  let  loose.  The  political  power  of  oriental 
empires  was  exhausted,  and  Rome  moved  with  gigantic 
strides  toward  the  East,  conquering  and  to  conquer. 
‘‘Out  of  such  a  welter  of  blood,  hypocrisy,  and  selfish¬ 
ness  came  the  apocalypses,”  says  Goodspeed,  “with 
their  lurid  pictures,  their  confused  programs,  their 
mixture  of  natural  and  spiritual  elements,  their  fire, 
sword,  earthquakes,  ecstasies,  and  judgments.”  They 
embody  in  figure  and  symbol  the  hopes  and  aspirations 
of  the  saints,  and  set  forth  the  prevailing  ideas  of  God’s 
control  of  human  history,  the  religious  significance  of 
the  past,  the  certainties  of  the  future,  the  final  con¬ 
summation,  the  ultimate  triumph  of  righteousness. 
Coming  events  are  outlined  in  divine  plans  with  set 
times  and  seasons.  The  form  varies,  but  the  content 
generally  had  this  sequence  of  topics :  The  oppression 
of  God’s  people;  the  divine  appearance;  the  mes¬ 
sianic  reign;  the  resurrection;  the  final  judgment. 

“Kilpatrick,  Art.  “Salvation,”  Hastings,  “Encyclopedia  of  Religion 
and  Ethics.” 

’  “Israel’s  Messianic  Hope,”  p.  266. 


66 


CHRISTIAN  WAYS  OF  SALVATION 


Much  was  purely  artificial  and  mechanical,  and  has 
misled  many  devout  men  and  women  ever  since  into 
all  sorts  of  millenarian,  pre-millenarian,  and  post- 
millenarian  vagaries.  Professor  E.  C.  Hayes  says: 
“The  substitution  of  the  mystic  doctrine  of  the  ^second 
coming’  for  the  practical  purpose  for  which  the  founder 
of  Christianity  lived  and  died  is  the  most  pathetic  of 
all  perversions  of  a  noble  teaching.”  ®  Yet  it  served 
to  inspire  many  with  faith  in  God,  with  the  courage 
to  persevere  under  insuperable  obstacles,  and  with  the 
patience  of  hope  looking  for  the  salvation  of  Jehovah. 
To  this  group  belonged  Zacharias,  Elizabeth,  Joseph 
and  Mary,  the  shepherds  of  Bethlehem,  Simeon  and 
Anna,  who  fixed  their  hearts  upon  God,  and  were  not 
misled  by  futile  political  programs  or  “intoxicated  by 
mythical  imaginings.”  ® 

Apocalypticism  was  a  type  of  prophecy  and  had  a 
twofold  source.  The  faithful  Jew  was  convinced 
through  the  long  and  stern  discipline  of  his  nation  that 
salvation  is  not  simply  for  the  individual,  but  includes 
the  community.  The  one  must  go  with  the  other. 
The  whole  sphere  of  human  life,  even  the  cosmic  order, 
must  be  controlled  by  the  sovereign  will  of  Jehovah. 
Otherwise  salvation  is  incomplete.  Again,  this  trans¬ 
formation  cannot  be  effected  by  men  or  by  human 
enterprise,  however  resolute  and  devout  men  may 
be.  God  alone  has  the  power  to  accomplish  this  salva- 

* ‘‘Sociology  and  Ethics,”  p.  1. 

^Wernle  reminds  us  that  “there  was  no  lack  of  mercenary  souls 
and  worldlings,  who,  leaving  the  future  to  take  care  of  itself,  devoted 
themselves  to  deriving  what  profit  and  pleasure  they  could  from 
the  passing  moment.  Jesus  comes  into  contact  at  every  step  with 
this  materialistic  spirit,  that  knows  not  the  signs  of  the  times. 
But  then  besides  these  there  are  countless  others,  expectant,  anxious 
and  exultant  souls,  eagerly  longing  for  the  future.” — ^“Beginnings  of 
Christianity,”  I.  pp.  34,  35.  English  translation. 


THE  WAY  OF  JESUS  67 

tion,  and  men  therefore  cling  to  him  in  faith  and  hope 
in  the  most  hopeless  situations  of  life. 

At  the  same  time  the  faithful  recognized  the  utter 
incapacity  of  the  human  mind  to  put  in  terms  of  time 
and  space  that  which  in  essence  was  above  both. 
Accordingly,  in  order  to  manifest  and  to  inspire  confi¬ 
dence  in  the  omnipotence  and  the  faithfulness  of  God, 
they  employed  imagery  and  symbolism. 

After  this  rapid  review  of  the  stages  in  Israel’s 
history  from  Pharaoh  to  Herod,  we  may  ask.  What  was 
Israel’s  mission  among  the  nations?  Its  glory  was  not 
imperial,  martial,  economic,  or  scholastic,  but  religious 
and  ethical.  The  faithful  learned  to  know  God  as  no 
other  nation  before  them.  Their  God  was  holy  and 
righteous,  long-suffering  and  full  of  compassion.  He 
had  a  purpose  to  save  both  the  individual  and  the 
nation.  His  will  was  to  control  life  in  all  its  relations. 
Jehovah  was  Redeemer,  Savior,  Father  of  his  people. 
He  wrought  in  them  the  sense  of  divine  vocation  to 
serve  not  only  their  kinsmen,  but  all  nations.  Israel 
was,  in  a  specific  sense,  his  ^^Servant”;  and,  when  he 
was  despised  and  rejected  of  men,  he  was  wounded 
for  their  transgressions  and  bruised  for  their  iniquities. 
His  stripes  were  for  the  healing  of  transgressors.  The 
prophets  discerned  with  increasing  clearness,  and  pro¬ 
claimed  in  words  that  have  touched  the  hearts  of 
countless  multitudes  through  all  ages,  that  such  sorrow 
has  atoning  value.  It  affects  not  only  man  but  God. 
^Tn  all  their  affliction  he  was  afflicted”  (Isaiah  63:9). 
The  religion  of  Israel  proclaims  the  ideal  of  redemptive 
suffering,  which  finds  its  final  expression  on  Calvary.^® 

“Without  the  combination  of  the  two  elements  which  lay  side 
by  side  within  it  [the  religion  of  Israel],  viz.: — messianic  sovereignty 
and  vicarious  suffering,  the  religion  of  Israel  could  not  have  sur¬ 
vived.  In  point  of  fact,  it  has  not  survived  apart  from  this  com- 


68 


CHRISTIAN  WAYS  OF  SALVATION 


In  Israel,  more  than  in  any  other  nation,  the  sense 
of  sin  was  developed, — sin  not  merely  as  a  breach  of 
law,  an  offense  against  the  state,  not  as  ignorance,  but 
as  an  act  of  ingratitude  and  disloyalty  toward  God. 
‘^Against  thee,  thee  only,  have  I  sinned^’  (Psalm  51:4). 
With  the  sense  of  sin  came  the  hope  of  a  redemption 
proceeding  from  God  alone.  “Have  mercy  upon  me, 
0  God,  according  to  thy  loving  kindness.^^  “There  is 
forgiveness  with  thee.’^  The  sensitized  conscience  was 
not  satisfied  with  baptisms,  asceticism,  ecstasy.  Men 
looked  for  a  spiritual  and  moral  renewal  to  be  effected 
by  God  in  the  coming  age.  The  psalmist  cried: 
“Create  in  me  a  clean  heart,  0  GoT^  (51:10).  The 
prophet  Ezekiel  promised  a  new  heart  and  a  new  spirit : 
in  place  of  the  stony  heart,  a  heart  of  flesh  (36:26). 

As  a  result  of  the  repeated  failures  of  the  nation,  the 
people  felt  a  helplessness  and  despondency  which 
issued  in  almost  utter  despair  with  regard  to  the  pres¬ 
ent  world.  This  hopeless  pessimism  was  nurtured  by 
the  feeling  of  the  wide  difference  between  the  status 
of  Judaism  and  the  divine  promises,  and  between  the 
moral  law  and  the  natural  life  of  man.  So  exalted 
was  the  vision  that  men  despaired  of  its  realization. 
Only  their  firm  trust  in  a  loving  and  helping  God 
afforded  them  hope  of  deliverance, — a  hope  that  be¬ 
came  the  keynote  of  the  apocalyptic  literature  before 
the  time  of  Jesus. 

bination.  Christianity  is  the  religion  of  Israel,  thought  through  in 
its  ideal  unity,  and  grasped  in  the  reality  of  a  greater  experience. 
Three  things  are  needed  ere  the  disciples  can  move  to  a  higher 
plane  of  religious  attainment:  (1)  a  death  which  shall  shatter  their 
false  messianism;  (2)  a  victory  which  shall  restore  to  them  all  of 
which  they  deemed  the  death  had  robbed  them;  (3)  the  abiding 
presence  of  Jesus,  which  shall  reproduce  in  undreamed  of  power 
and  joy  their  life  with  him  in  Galilee.” — Kilpatrick,  Art.  “Salvation,” 
in  Hastings,  “Encyclopedia  of  Religion  and  Ethics,”  p.  122. 


THE  WAY  OF  JESUS 


69 


From  Israel,  comes  also  the  conception  of  mediators 
of  salvation, — not  cosmic,  material,  or  angelic,  but 
human.  Only  through  men  can  God  save  men.  The 
mediator  was  now  the  holy  community,  now  the  holy 
individual,  but  always  human.  To  develop  men  to 
mediate  the  life  of  God  was  Israel’s  supreme  mission 
and  the  outcome  of  its  history.  Among  them  were 
peasants  and  princes,  statesmen  and  warriors,  prophets 
and  sages,  unnamed  heroes  and  saints.  They  were  the 
anointed,  the  messiahs  of  Jehovah;  forerunners  of  the 
man  of  Nazareth,  the  Son  of  man,  the  Son  of  God,  the 
suffering  Servant,  and  the  conquering  Lord.  When 
the  expectant  saints  caught  a  glimpse  of  him,  they 
were  ready  to  join  with  Simeon  in  the  cry: 

Now  lettest  thou  thy  servant  depart.  Lord,  according  to  thy 
word,  in  peace ; 

For  mine  eyes  have  seen  thy  salvation, 

Which  thou  hast  prepared  before  the  face  of  all  peoples; 

A  light  for  revelation  to  the  Gentiles, 

And  the  glory  of  thy  people  Israel. 

The  religion  of  the  prophets  came  to  life  in  Jesus,  and 
he  gave  it  deeper  meaning  and  wider  application. 

II 

In  the  Gospel  according  to  Mark,  Jesus  is  introduced 
in  this  wise:  ^^And  it  came  to  pass  in  those  days,  that 
Jesus  came  from  Nazareth  of  Galilee,  and  was  baptized 
of  John  in  the  Jordan”  (1:9).  He  came  out  into  the 
desert  with  the  multitude  to  hear  the  new  prophet, 
him  of  the  camel’s-hair  garment  and  the  girdle  of  skin. 
In  appearance  he  was  a  Jew,  a  resident  of  a  despised 
village,  an  artisan,  a  layman  not  taught  in  the  schools, 
reared  after  the  manner  of  Jewish  children  in  home, 


70 


CHRISTIAN  WAYS  OF  SALVATION 


synagogue,  and  community.  He  knew  the  law  and  the 
prophets,  the  psalms  and  the  proverbs.  He  shared  the 
religious  and  social  traditions  and  conditions  of  his 
people,  felt  keenly  their  poverty,  desolation,  and 
despair.  He  was  inspired  by  their  hopes,  and  doubtless 
longed  with  them  for  the  salvation  of  Jehovah,  for 
national  independence,  for  a  better  time  when  the 
promises  of  God  would  be  vindicated  and  Israel  would 
triumph, — all  of  which  would  be  accomplished  by  the 
coming  of  the  long-expected  Messiah. 

Jesus  was  stirred  to  the  depths  by  the  burning  elo¬ 
quence  of  John,  and  felt  an  irresistible  impulse  to 
respond  to  the  message  and  to  receive  baptism  in  the 
Jordan.  Then  and  there  he  saw  the  heavens  rent 
asunder;  and  the  Spirit  descended  upon  him  as  a  dove; 
and  a  voice  came  out  of  the  heavens,  ^‘Thou  art  my 
beloved  Son,  in  thee  I  am  well  pleased.’^  Deep  called 
unto  deep.  The  divinity  within  him,  quickened  into 
full  self-consciousness  by  the  divine  voice  from  above, 
responded  to  the  heavenly  vision.  He  went  down  into 
the  water  a  Galilean  peasant;  he  came  up  out  of  the 
water  the  Christ  of  God:  a  mystery  in  the  inmost 
consciousness  of  Jesus  which  we  shall  not  pretend  to 
explain.  Its  effects,  however,  are  undeniable  and 
clear. 

He  was  henceforth  in  the  grip  of  an  overwhelming 
and  all-controlling  conviction  of  a  distinctive  divine 
mission,  not  merely  as  a  disciple  of  John  but  as  the 
Anointed  of  God.  In  the  strepgth  of  this  conviction 
he  was  driven  into  the  wilderness;  from  which  he  came 
forth,  confirmed  in  the  reality  of  his  calling,  and  with 
the  firm  resolve  to  fulfil  his  mission  in  God’s  own 
way.  For  he  declined  to  be  a  military  messiah,  such 
as  the  Zealots  expected ;  or  a  passive  messiah,  awaiting 


THE  WAY  OF  JESUS 


71 


a  sudden  manifestation  and  exaltation  by  the  power  of 
God,  such  as  the  Rabbis  looked  for.  His  was  the 
messiahship  of  preaching,  teaching,  serving,  suffering, 
sacrificing;  a  conception  foreign  to  most  of  the  Jews 
of  that  day,  and  new  in  the  thoughts  of  men  generally. 

He  began  his  work  as  a  herald  of  good  news.  In  the 
words  of  Mark,  Jesus  came  into  Galilee,  preaching 
the  gospel  [good  tidings]  of  God.’^  The  substance  of 
his  gospel  is  briefly  defined  as  follows:  “The  time  is 
fulfilled,  and  the  kingdom  of  God  is  at  hand:  repent 
ye,  and  believe  in  the  gospel.”  The  proclamation  of 
this  message  was  the  outcome  of  the  experience  of  his 
baptism  and  temptation.  His  words  were  like  John’s, 
but  his  person  and  life  differed  widely  from  John’s. 
Jesus  had  a  new  sense  of  the  nearness  of  the  Kingdom; 
of  the  conditions  for  entrance  into  it;  of  the  will  of 
God  which  men  of  the  Kingdom  were  to  observe,  and 
of  his  own  personal  mediatorship  in  the  realization 
of  it. 

He  was  the  prophet  announcing  the  coming  King¬ 
dom  of  God  and  the  fall  of  Jerusalem;  the  master  who 
taught  his  disciples  the  way  of  fife  and  denounced  the 
Pharisees;  the  savior  and  lord  who  healed  the  sick, 
forgave  sins,  and  cast  out  demons;  the  martyr  on  the 
cross  who  gave  his  life  for  men;  the  messiah  on  the 
throne,  about  to  return  to  establish  his  kingdom  upon 
earth.  Each  of  these  terms  describes  a  phase  of  his 
work;  yet  none  of  them,  nor  all  of  them,  comprehend 
all  that  he  was,  and  taught,  and  achieved.  He  himself 
was  conscious  of  perfect  communion  with  God  and  in¬ 
wardly  sure  of  the  divine  call;  knowing  himself  as  the 
bearer  of  complete  redemption,  the  fulfilment  of 
prophecies  in  his  person  and  work. 

He  proclaimed  his  gospel  in  the  apocalyptic  language 


72 


CHRISTIAN  WAYS  OF  SALVATION 


of  his  time,  in  terms  current  among  his  people;  such 
as  the  Kingdom  of  God,  the  Messiah,  the  Son  of  man, 
the  Son  of  God.  He  never  defined  these  phrases,  but 
gave  them  new  meaning  through  his  life  and  death, 
his  resurrection  and  glorification.  For,  in  the  end, 
he  was  the  content  of  his  gospel.  In  the  words  of 
Professor  Harnack,  ^^Jesus  lived  and  spoke  within  the 
circle  of  eschatological  ideas  which  Judaism  had  de¬ 
veloped  more  than  two  hundred  years  before;  but  he 
controlled  them  by  giving  them  a  new  content  and 
forcing  them  into  a  new  direction.’^  From  this  point 
of  view  Professor  Loisy  defines  the  original  gospel  of 
Jesus  in  these  words: 

The  ideal  of  Jesus  was  national  in  its  setting,  religious 
and  moral  in  its  spirit,  the  mystical  program  of  a  universal 
revolution  of  which  the  execution  was  left  to  the  omnipo¬ 
tence  of  the  Eternal.  God  was  at  last  about  to  reveal 
himself,  as  the  prophets  had  predicted  he  would;  he  was 
prepared  to  exercise  his  justice  upon  all  nations,  and  espe¬ 
cially  upon  his  own — upon  Israel,  heir  of  the  promise.  He 
would  come  at  an  unexpected  moment,  like  a  thief.  The 
righteous  who  were  alive  would  be  gathered  together  amid 
the  commotion  in  which  the  world  was  to  be  plunged,  even 
as  Noah  with  his  family  was  saved  in  the  ark  when  the 
deluge  came.  The  righteous  who  were  dead  would  be  raised 
to  life.  The  wicked  would  be  left  to  punishment  or  to 
eternal  death.  Some  righteous  pagans  might  be  admitted 
to  the  society  of  the  elect.  Over  this  society  God  would 
veritably  reign,  represented  by  a  predestined  leader  (chef), 
the  Messiah.  This  leader  was  to  be  none  other  than  Jesus 
himself,  and  he  was  to  appear  in  the  great  manifestation  of 
power  by  which  the  age  of  felicity  would  be  inaugurated  on 
the  regenerated  earth. 

In  the  meantime,  Jesus  was  only  the  prophet  of  the  ex¬ 
pected  kingdom;  he  declared  it  imminent,  and  he  required 
that  instant  preparation  should  be  made  for  it;  he  stated 

““History  of  Dogma,”  Eng.  trans.,  I.  p.  62.  ‘ 


THE  WAY  OF  JESUS 


73 


the  conditions  on  which  access  could  be  had  to  it.  Descent 
from  Abraham  was  not  a  sufficient  title;  even  the  external 
observation  of  the  law,  in  all  the  rigor  which  the  Pharisees 
applied  to  it,  was  no  guarantee.  What  was  indispensable 
was  to  believe  in  the  messenger  of  Heaven,  to  prepare  for 
,  the  coming  of  the  great  Judge,  to  acquire  the  state  of  feel¬ 
ing  befitting  the  servant  of  a  good  God.  The  love  of  this 
God  for  men  knew  neither  reserves  nor  limits ;  so  too  should 
it  be  with  the  love  of  men  toward  God,  and  with  their 
charity  one  towards  another.  All  concern  with  the  interests 
of  the  earth  and  its  future  was  unnecessary.  A  new  world 
was  about  to  be  born  in  which  human  relationships  would 
be  changed  along  with  the  whole  condition  of  man;  the 
family,  the  political  state,  would  be  no  more,  but  there 
would  be  a  race  of  immortals,  leading  on  earth  the  life  of 
the  angels,  under  the  presidency  of  the  King — Christ.  This 
beautiful  dream  terminated  in  the  cross  of  Golgotha.^^ 

This  interpretation  of  Jesus’  gospel  seems  to  be  in 
accord  with  the  teachings  of  ardent  modern  adventists 
more  than  with  those  of  rigorous  orthodox  confession- 
alists.  After  all,  it  may  be  more  nearly  true  to  the 
record  than  the  prevalent  view  that  Jesus  came  with 
V  the  deliberate  purpose  of  founding  a  church, — an  or- 
'  ganization  with  officials,  dogmas,  ordinances,  and  laws, 
with  divine  sanctions,  through  which  men  are  to  be 
■k-  saved  from  age  to  age  to  the  end  of  time  or  at  the 
r  final  judgment.^^ 

Yet  nothing,  on  the  other  hand,  seems  clearer  than 
that  Jesus  in  principle  did  not  belong  to  the  apoc- 
alyptists.  Their  picturesque  and  fantastic  symbolism, 
their  attempts  to  fix  times  and  seasons  (Acts  1:7), 

i 

j  ,  .  “The  Hibbert  Journal,  ‘The  Christian  Mystery/’  October,  1911. 
j  y,  “Nothing  is  more  clear  than  that  Jesus  did  not  purpose  the 
:!  founding  of  a  church.  He  had  no  thought  of  an  organization.  He 
j  ^  desired  only  that  his  people  might  be  in  the  Kingdom  of  God 
instead  of  the  kingdom  of  the  world. — Weinel,  “Neutestamentliche 
!  Theologie,”  p.  106. 

I 

►  GU 


74 


CHRISTIAN  WAYS  OF  SALVATION 


their  far-flung  prophetic  programs,  find  no  place  in 
his  message.  His  aim  is  rather  to  show  men  what 
manner  of  life  they  must  live  when  God’s  reign  or 
dominion  comes.  He  shifts  the  emphasis  from  the 
spectacular  and  the  grotesque  to  the  ethical  and  re¬ 
ligious  demands  of  the  Kingdom.  ‘‘The  Kingdom  is 
more  than  a  phrase  or  a  vision ;  it  is  a  great  determin¬ 
ing  and  fertilizing  idea,  or  world  of  ideas,  a  realm  of 
facts  and  forces,  of  motives  and  ideals,  into  which  men 
could  enter  only  sub  persona  inf  antis,  whose  wealth  is 
open  only  to  the  poor  in  spirit,  amid  whose  impulses 
and  influences  men  might  live  and  grow  to  a  wonder¬ 
ful  maturity  of  knowledge,  character,  and  power.” 

In  one  sense,  men  were  already  in  the  Kingdom  and 
the  Kingdom  was  in  them.  In  another  sense,  they 
were  to  be  prepared  for  the  Kingdom  and  were  to  be 
at  once  its  heralds  and  its  servants. 

The  permanent  and  unchangeable  element  in  the 
gospel,  therefore,  was  Jesus — the  same  yesterday, 
to-day,  and  forever, — his  person,  his  word  and  work, 
his  life  and  death  and  resurrection.  These  were  first 
set  in  the  apocalyptic  framework  of  Judaism,  and  later 
in  the  ecclesiastical  forms  of  ancient  Catholicism. 
Both  were  sincere  attempts  to  make  known  unto  men 
the  height  and  depth,  the  length  and  breadth  of  the 
love  of  God  in  Christ,  the  fulness  of  the  Godhead 
bodily.  Whether  terms  were  taken  from  Jewish 
apocalypses,  Hellenic  philosophy,  or  Roman  law,  they 
were  only  transient  forms  or  media,  which  half  con¬ 
cealed  and  half  revealed  Jesus,  only  earthen  vessels 
for  the  life  of  God  in  the  souls  of  men.  Professor 
Scott  says: 

Kilpatrick,  Art.  “Salvation,”  in  Hastings,  “Encyclopedia  of  Re¬ 
ligion  and  Ethics,”  p.  118. 


THE  WAY  OF  JESUS 


75 


The  apocalyptic  categories  which  Jesus  himself  had  used 
were  gradually  replaced  by  others  of  a  more  abstract  and 
philosophical  nature,  to  which  the  Gentile  mind  could  re¬ 
spond  more  easily.  From  this  later  modification  of  Jesus’ 
teaching  rather  than  from  the  teaching  itself,  the  Christian 
theology  has  taken  its  departure.  It  represents  the  attempt 
to  translate  an  eschatological  message  into  terms  borrowed 
from  Greek  speculation  and  in  their  manner  to  express  more 
fully  its  import.  .  ,  .  Now  we  are  able  to  distinguish  be¬ 
tween  the  original  message  and  the  theology  which  grew 
out  of  it.^® 

When  Jesus  announced  the  coming  of  the  Kingdom, 
he  had  not  in  mind  primarily  a  new  religion  or  a  new 
church.  His  purpose  was  to  assure  his  nation  that  now 
its  highest  hope  was  to  be  realized,  and  therefore  he 
called  upon  his  people  to  repent,  to  face  seriously  and 
resolutely  the  will  of  God,  which  was  the  law  of  the 
Kingdom.  Yet  by  his  life,  in  both  word  and  deed,  he 
so  interpreted  the  nature  of  the  coming  order  as  to 
make  it  something  essentially  new,  and  greater  than 
the  vision  of  prophets  or  the  wisdom  of  sages  had 
visaged  it.  So  different  was  it  from  the  expected  King¬ 
dom  that  Israel,  not  discerning  the  day  of  its  visita¬ 
tion,  failed  to  see  that  a  new  religion  was  born,  which 
was  in  substance  a  new  faith  in  God,  a  new  fellowship 
of  men,  and  a  new  attitude  toward  the  world.  It  was 
disowned  by  Jew  and  Gentile,  and  therefore  was  both 
a  gospel  of  salvation  and  a  judgment  of  condemnation. 

The  assumption  underlying  the  proclamation  of 
Jesus  was  that  men  were  under  the  power  of  a  king¬ 
dom  not  of  God,  yea,  at  enmity  with  God  and  irre¬ 
concilable  with  him.  From  the  thraldom  of  the  powers 
of  the  world  Jesus  promised  deliverance. 

^American  Journal  of  Theology,  April,  1914,  ‘The  Significance 
of  Jesus  for  Modern  Religion  in  view  of  his  Eschatological  Teach¬ 
ing.” 


76 


CHRISTIAN  WAYS  OF  SALVATION 


The  Spirit  of  the  Lord  is  upon  me, 

Because  he  anointed  me  to  preach  good  tidings  to  the  poor: 
He  hath  sent  me  to  proclaim  release  to  the  captives, 

And  recovering  of  sight  to  the  blind. 

To  set  at  liberty  them  that  are  bruised. 

To  proclaim  the  acceptable  year  of  the  Lord. 

— Luke  4:18,  19. 

The  Kingdom,  however,  is  a  gift  of  God,  not  a  creation 
of  man  or  an  evolution  of  nature.  It  is  ^^born,  not  of 
blood,  nor  of  the  will  of  the  flesh,  nor  of  the  will  of 
man,  but  of  God^’  (John  1:13).  It  is  to  come  upon 
earth  without  human  intervention  in  a  supernatural 
way  by  act  of  the  omnipotent  God.  Yet  Jesus  showed 
men  how  to  prepare  for  its  coming,  and  what  its  nature 
is  to  be.  This  in  itself  implies  that  the  Kingdom  was 
ethically  conditioned;  for  men’s  attitude  toward  it 
has  a  retarding  or  a  hastening  effect  upon  its  coming. 
Yet,  the  Kingdom  is  none  the  less  God’s:  his  is  the 
power  and  the  glory  of  it. 

Jesus’  message  of  repentance  required  a  new  attitude 
and  disposition  toward  God, — a  personal  relation  of 
filial  faith  and  obedience,  comprehending  far  more  than 
punctilious  observance  of  laws,  celebration  of  sacra¬ 
ments,  or  acceptance  of  dogmas.  The  heavenly  Father 
loves,  provides,  and  guides.  The  whole  world  is  under 
his  care.  His  almighty  power  is  capable  of  attaining 
the  purposes  of  his  infinite  love.  Into  the  fellowship 
of  such  a  faith  Jesus  brought  his  disciples.  Men  were 
to  live  with  the  Father  as  he  did.  For  it  was  ever 
Jesus’  ultimate  aim  to  unite  God  and  man  as  he  was 
united  with  God.  He  taught  them  to  pray  ^^our 
Father.”  To  live  and  to  pray  in  this  way  was  sal¬ 
vation — something  wholly  different  from  anything 
that  Judaism  or  paganism  offered. 


THE  WAY  OF  JESUS 


77 


Jesus’  message  required,  furthermore,  a  new  disposi¬ 
tion  of  men  towards  one  another,  expressing  itself  in 
love,  mutual  respect,  service,  and  sacrifice  in  the  spirit 
in  which  he  lived  among  men.  This  love  is  a  love  that 
reaches  beyond  the  bounds  of  caste  and  nation,  com¬ 
prehensive  and  inclusive  as  the  love  of  God;  a  love 
that  forgives  seventy  times  and  seven;  a  love  of  ene¬ 
mies,  of  them  that  hate  you  and  despitefully  use  you; 
a  love  that  goes  out  in  search  of  the  lost  until  they  are 
found;  a  love  that  will  patiently  wait  for  the  sinner’s 
return,  and  will  die  for  him.  Jesus’  life  and  death  are 
the  definition  of  his  love,  the  personal  embodiment  of 
the  love  of  God,  which  is  to  be  the  motive  controlling 
men  in  their  relations  toward  one  another. 

Jesus’  message  required  also  a  new  disposition  of 
men  toward  the  universe,  the  vast  world  of  things; 
not  that  of  ascetic  abstinence,  nor  that  of  lawless  in¬ 
dulgence,  but  one  of  self-mastery  and  purity,  which 
makes  all  things  subservient  to  the  eternal  purpose  of 
righteousness  and  love.  He  warns  against  mammon, 
and  against  anxious  care  for  the  future.  Yea,  it  is  far 
better  that  an  eye  or  a  hand  perish,  than  that  the 
whole  body  be  cast  into  hell.  Men’s  destiny  in  eternity 
will  be  determined  by  their  love,  their  faith,  their  self- 
control.  For  these  are  the  criteria  of  judgment  either 
at  death  or  at  his  coming.  The  final  test  is  the  dis¬ 
position  of  the  heart;  not  the  asceticism  of  John,  nor 
the  legalism  of  the  Pharisees. 

Jesus,  at  the  same  time,  recognized  man’s  inability 
to  do  the  will  of  God, — the  one  great  lesson  taught  by 
human  experience  since  time  began,  the  inability  or 
depravity  of  men.  There  has  ever  been  the  sense  of 
helplessness  in  the  presence  of  divine  holiness.  In  the 
light  of  the  glory  of  God  men  have  ever  been  humbled 


78 


CHRISTIAN  WAYS  OF  SALVATION 


to  the  dust  and  have  cried  for  mercy.  The  law  con¬ 
vinces  men  of  sin;  through  the  commandment  sin  be¬ 
came  exceeding  sinful  (Romans  7 : 13).  Jesus  did  more 
than  recognize  the  sinfulness  of  man;  he  revealed  it 
to  men  in  a  way  in  which  they  never  feel  it  save  in  his 
presence.  Men  did  not  know  the  sinfulness  of  sin 
until  they  knew  him,  nor  did  they  appreciate  the  love 
of  God  until  they  heard  from  him  the  assurance  of 
forgiveness.  The  law  came  through  Moses;  grace  and 
truth  came  through  Jesus  Christ.  He  made  known 
the  God  of  grace,  who  forgives  unto  the  uttermost, 
asking  only  that  men  accept  his  pardon.  This  is  the 
message  of  the  parable  of  the  prodigal;  this  is  the 
meaning  of  sinful  man  on  the  one  side,  and  of  the 
gracious  God  on  the  other.  The  one  is  the  love  that 
will  not  let  me  go;  the  other  reaches  out  and  cries, 
^^Just  as  I  am  without  one  plea.^’ 

The  vision  of  this  God  in  the  face  of  Jesus  Christ  is 
the  power  that  saves.  How  could  those  who  had  seen 
this  vision  help  but  call  him  Savior?  Through  him 
men  became  new  creatures,  for  they  were  filled  with  a 
new  faith,  a  new  hope,  and  a  new  love  in  the  presence 
of  eternity,  whether  it  be  above  us  or  before  us.  This 
is  the  mystery  of  Christian  redemption.  It  is  on  the 
one  hand  an  act  of  God  through  Christ,  and  on  the 
other  it  is  the  Christian  life  in  men:  both  a  divine 
gift  and  a  human  achievement.  God’s  love,  man’s 
need,  Jesus  mediating  divine  love  to  human  need, — 
this  is  the  substance  of  his  salvation. 

Jesus  himself  was  an  epitome  of  the  Kingdom;  in 
him  the  powers  of  the  world  to  come  were  operative. 
The  blind  received  their  sight  and  the  lame  walked, 
the  lepers  were  cleansed  and  the  deaf  heard,  the  dead 
were  raised  up  and  the  poor  had  good  tidings  preached 


THE  WAY  OF  JESUS 


79 


to  them.  Before  men  had  thought  out  profound 
theories  of  redemption  with  incomparable  philosophic 
acumen,  Jesus  was  saving  men.  Virtue  went  out  of 
him.  He  was  Savior  and  Lord.  He  delivered  men  from 
the  present  evil  world,  from  physical  and  mental 
disease,  from  error  and  immorality,  from  sensualism 
and  selfishness,  from  intolerable  sorrow  and  gloom, 
from  fear  of  death  and  of  hell.  He  begat  in  them  a 
new  sense  of  God’s  presence,  a  new  feeling  of  depend¬ 
ence  upon  God,  a  new  valuation  of  life,  of  personality, 
of  the  universe,  of  eternity.  They  looked  upward  and 
outward,  thrilled  with  new  faith  and  with  new  love. 
He  wrought  reconciliation  and  peace  between  God  and 
the  soul.  Men  were  prepared  to  venture  everything 
for  God,  and  for  the  pearl  of  great  price  they  would 
sell  all  they  had.  Jesus’  enthusiasm,  his  love,  and  his' 
courage  came  to  be  mighty  impulses,  the  originating 
causes  of  all  that  is  good  in  his  disciples.  So  great 
was  the  redemptive  power  that  went  forth  from  his 
person,  that  even  his  death  could  only  temporarily 
perplex  his  followers.  His  cross  became  the  consum¬ 
mate  manifestation  of  the  saving  love  of  God.  The 
final  revelation  of  the  ultimate  principles  of  the  King¬ 
dom,  the  gospel  of  Jesus,  was  made  clear  on  Calvary. 
There  we  behold  the  display  of  the  absolute  Love  from 
whom  all  things  proceed  and  by  whom  all  men  are 
saved.  There  we  behold  the  suffering  of  the  eternal 
Love  for  the  sinner,  and  the  eternal  hope  of  the  sinner 
seeking  life  and  salvation. 

^^He  was  too  great  that  he  should  die,”  says  Lagarde. 
This  is  the  impression  that  he  made  upon  his  disciples 
during  his  close  fellowship  with  them,  and  it  was  too 
deep  to  be  quenched  by  death.  For  as  in  his  earthly 
life  he  gave  his  disciples  joy,  consolation,  courage,  and 


80 


CHRISTIAN  WAYS  OF  SALVATION 


assurance  of  victory,  so  after  his  death  men,  ex¬ 
periencing  his  redemptive  power  more  profoundly  than 
during  his  life,  knew  that  he  livedd®  Is  it  not  per¬ 
chance  true  that  faith  in  his  resurrection  is  the  effect, 
rather  than  the  cause  of  salvation? 

Whether  the  Kingdom  comes  suddenly  or  gradually, 
whether  it  be  upon  earth  or  in  heaven,  Jesus  Christ  is 
its  life, — the  door  of  entrance,  the  motive  power  of 
its  members,  the  standard  of  judgment,  the  eternal 
hope.  Both  the  blessings  of  the  Kingdom  and  the 
conditions  of  entrance  into  it  were  bound  up  with 
him.  For  only  when  men  came  to  him,  did  they  see 
the  true  significance  of  it  and  receive  assurance  of  its 
reality.  In  him  the  gospel  is  word  and  deed.  He 
lived  it,  and  inspired  others  to  live  it.  He  is  the 
Son  who  knows  the  Father  and  makes  him  known 
to  others.  Through  him  they  are  convinced  that  God 
is  gracious  and  that  their  sins  are  forgiven.  From 
him  they  receive  the  motive  of  the  new  life, — the 
service  of  love.  This  vital  relation  between  Jesus 
and  his  gospel  was  far  more  a  necessary  inference  made 
by  his  disciples,  who  felt  the  power  of  his  life,  than 
a  direct  element  of  his  message. 

Jesus  never  failed  to  turn  men’s  thought  to  the 
future.  The  life  of  the  Kingdom  is  the  eternal  life — 
the  timeless  and  spaceless  fife.  Death  cannot  destroy 
it.  The  Kingdom  and  Life  are  interchangeable  terms. 
The  constant  assertion  of  this  is  the  distinct  contribu¬ 
tion  of  Adventism :  it  has  couched  in  apocalyptic  terms 
a  truth  that  we  must  not  lose  sight  of  in  our  stress  on 
the  Christianizing  of  the  social  order,  as  if  that  might 
be  the  ^'be  all  and  end  all”  of  Christianity.  The  full 
fruition  of  salvation  is  in  the  future,  in  eternity.  The 

^^Wernle,  '‘The  Beginnings  of  Christianity,”  Eng.  trans.,  I.  p.  116. 


THE  WAY  OF  JESUS 


81 


present  life  is  forever  preparatory;  a  repentance  and, 
in  a  way,  a  hope  for  the  Kingdom  to  come,  for  the 
best  that  is  yet  to  be.  The  Church  was  right  in  its 
translation  of  the  advent  hope,  the  expectation  of 
Christ’s  return  to  men,  into  the  heavenly  life,  the  hope 
of  men’s  return  to  Christ.  In  this  sense,  we  are  saved 
by  hope;  we  live  in  the  world,  and  yet  above  it;  our 
citizenship  is  in  heaven.  The  message  of  Jesus  always 
has  to  do  with  last  things,  with  eternity,  and  retains 
from  beginning  to  end  its  eschatological  character.  His 
eyes  were  fixed,  as  much  as  those  of  any  prophet,  on 
the  future,  when  the  purpose  of  God  will  be  fully 
realized.  His  gospel  will  always  sound  the  note  of  the 
end,  of  the  nearness  of  judgment,  of  the  coming  King¬ 
dom.  He  eliminated  the  material  and  national  con¬ 
ception  of  the  Kingdom,  but  not  for  a  moment  was 
he  content  with  its  present  realization.  He  died  and 
rose  with  his  face  toward  eternity,  toward  the  future. 
That  was  the  great  and  new  thing  in  his  message, — 
the  life  in  God  now,  that 'will  find  its  completion  and 
perfection  in  the  future.  Deprive  it  of  that  hope  and 
you  weaken  its  hold  upon  human  life. 

How  was  the  salvation  of  Jesus  made  effective  in  his 
followers?  Not  by  legal  enactments,  not  by  the  ac¬ 
ceptance  of  formulas,  not  by  sacramental  acts,  but  by 
fellowship  of  the  living  person  with  living  persons. 
They  lived  with  him,  walked  with  him,  talked  with 
him,  worked  with  him.  He  preached  and  taught  and 
healed,  and  sent  them  forth  to  preach  and  teach  and 
heal.  By  his  precept  and  practice,  and  by  their  self¬ 
surrender  and  service,  men  became  recipients  of  his 
spirit,  partners  of  his  vision  and  work,  of  his  self- 
denial  and  sacrifice,  and  were  saved.  In  his  company 
deliverance  from  sin  and  life  in  God  became  a  human 


82 


CHRISTIAN  WAYS  OF  SALVATION 


experience, — an  experience  new  in  the  history  of  man, 
and  yet  capable  of  repetition  through  him  from  age 
to  age. 

It  was  for  the  followers  of  Jesus,  who  experienced 
his  redemptive  power,  to  define  it  in  comprehensible 
words.  But  long  before  they  spoke  of  it  in  the  dfficult 
terms  of  soteriology, — such  as  regeneration,  justifica¬ 
tion,  atonement,  redemption, — they  were  saved  by 
Jesus.  This  is,  doubtless,  the  supreme  mystery  of 
history,  the  perpetual  miracle  baffling  the  mind  of  man. 
Yet  it  is,  at  the  same  time,  an  undeniable  fact  of  human 
experience,  and  has  been  a  force  in  human  life  that  has 
worked  for  good  far  exceeding  the  reach  of  the  human 
imagination.  To  define  it  is  not  the  primary  thing. 
It  is  for  us  rather  to  show  men  Jesus  until  they  come 
under  the  power  of  his  person,  the  saving  efficacy  of 
his  life,  and  themselves  live  in  his  spirit.  How  the 
Church  from  the  earliest  times  to  the  present  felt  and 
taught  the  way  of  salvation,  remains  for  us  to  consider. 


CHAPTER  IV 


THE  WAYS  OF  THE  APOSTLES 

The  crucifixion  spread  consternation  among  the 
followers  of  Jesus.  They  returned  to  their  homes  with 
shattered  faith  and  disappointed  hopes.  Their  mood 
was  expressed  by  the  two  disciples  on  the  way  to 
Emmaus:  ^‘But  we  hoped  that  it  was  he  who  should 
redeem  Israeh^  (Luke  24:21).  Yet  they  were  only 
temporarily  perplexed,  not  finally  defeated.  Not  even 
the  death  on  the  cross  could  efface  the  deep  impression 
made  upon  them  by  the  life  of  Jesus,  or  long  stifie  their 
conviction  of  his  ultimate  victory.  Their  faith  was 
renewed  and  their  hope  revived  by  the  vision  of  the 
risen  Lord.  In  the  strength  of  it  they  came  together 
again,  now  in  Galilee  and  then  in  Jerusalem,  and  spoke 
the  word  ^Vith  all  boldness’’  (Acts  4:29). 

The  resurrection  was  proof  positive  that  Jesus,  who 
was  crucified,  lives  and  reigns,  and  through  his  spirit 
continues  his  redemptive  activity.  In  his  first  sermon 
Peter  summarized  the  faith  of  the  earliest  Christians 
in  the  words:  ^‘Let  all  the  house  of  Israel  therefore 
know  assuredly,  that  God  hath  made  him  both  Lord 
and  Christ,  this  same  Jesus  whom  ye  crucified.”  He  saw 
combined  in  the  exalted  Christ  the  two  ideas  that  were 
developed  side  by  side  in  the  religion  of  Israel, — the 
suffering  and  the  sovereign  Messiah,  salvation  and 
lordship  through  the  cross.  For  ^^the  things  which  God 
foreshowed  by  the  mouth  of  all  the  prophets,  that 

83 


84 


CHRISTIAN  WAYS  OF  SALVATION 


his  Christ  should  suffer,  he  thus  fulfilled’’  (Acts  3:18). 
His  ascension  to  glory  did  not  in  any  way  interfere 
with  the  belief  in  his  return  to  establish  the  Kingdom 
of  which  the  community  of  believers  was  both  an 
anticipation  and  a  preparation.  ^^And  that  he  may 
send  the  Christ  who  hath  been  appointed  for  you, 
even  Jesus:  whom  the  heaven  must  receive  until  the 
times  of  restoration  of  all  things,  whereof  God  spake 
by  the  mouth  of  his  holy  prophets  that  have  been  from 
of  old”  (Acts  3:20,  21).  The  disciples  and  saints  were 
the  true  Israel  and  the  heirs  of  the  promises.  Salva¬ 
tion  was  both  a  present  possession  and  a  future  hope. 
Some  stressed  more  the  present  benefits,  others  the 
future  blessings.  Some  thought  of  the  kingdom  in  a 
spiritual,  others  in  a  political  and  material,  way. 

I 

The  tendency  of  the  latter  group  was  to  magnify 
the  messianic  hope  almost  to  the  exclusion  of  the  life 
and  work  of  the  historical  Jesus,  and  to  resolve  it  into 
the  fulfilment  of  the  political  aspirations  of  Jewish 
patriots.  They  were  still  in  the  grip  of  messianic 
nationalism,  and  were  so  absorbed  by  the  second  com¬ 
ing  that  they  lost  the  significance  of  his  earthly  min¬ 
istry,  and  failed  to  comprehend  how,  by  his  word  and 
work,  he  completely  transformed  the  Jewish  and  pagan 
conceptions  of  religion  and  life.  The  only  real  value 
of  the  first  coming  was  the  call  to  repentance  and  the 
preparation  of  the  people  to  receive  him  when  he  comes 
in  glory.  This  conception  was  wrought  out  in  the 
apocalypses,  and  ended  in  the  sectarianism  of  the  Jew¬ 
ish  Christians.  There  was  another  group,  however, 
that  emphasized  the  religious  benefits  of  the  present; 


THE  WAYS  OF  THE  APOSTLES 


85 


not,  of  course,  renouncing  the  hope  of  a  future  con¬ 
summation,  but  spiritualizing  and  ethicizing  it.  These 
were  the  forerunners  of  Paul  and  John.  Professor 
Wernle  says: 

We  can  trace  two  divergent  tendencies  in  the  early 
Church,  both  of  which  start  from  Jesus’  eschatology.  There 
is  first  the  national  Jewish  tendency,  fragments  of  which 
can  be  found  in  the  Apocalypse — even  St.  Paul  did  not  show 
himself  quite  free  from  it— Israel  must  be  saved,  cost  what 
it  may.  And  there  is  the  freer,  broader  view  which  throws 
a  bridge  over  to  Greek  thought  and  finally  transforms  the 
whole  Jewish  eschatology  into  a  religious  hope  of  the  next 
world.  This  latter  alone  understood  the  meaning  of  the 
work  of  Jesus’  life.^ 

The  primary  and  distinctive  characteristic  of  all  the 
early  Christians,  regardless  of  their  attitude  toward 
the  return  of  the  Lord,  was  that  they  felt  themselves  in 
possession  of  the  spirit  of  Christ.  This  was  the  new 
thing — not  a  doctrine  nor  an  organization,  but  a  qual¬ 
ity  of  life — which  in  time  differentiated  them  from 
Jewish  messianism  and  pagan  mysticism.  Once  he  was 
with  them ;  now  he  is  in  them.  Professor  Bacon  says : 
“The  beginning  of  our  religion  was  the  doctrine  of  The 
Spirit’  as  an  efifiuence  from  the  risen  Jesus.”  On  this 
account  the  first  disciples  were  both  the  representatives 
of  the  kingdom  and  the  messengers  of  its  coming, — “a 
fragment  of  the  heavenly  order  thrown  forward  into 
the  present”  and  a  pledge  of  a  glorious  consummation 
in  the  future.  They  experienced  salvation  here;  of 
that  they  were  sure,  and  in  that  they  rejoiced  and 
triumphed,  though  they  as  yet  had  not  a  clearly  de¬ 
fined  theory  of  it.  For  it  was  a  spiritual  process  before 
it  became  a  dogmatic  statement.  Jesus  himself  was 

^“Beginnings  of  Christianity,”  Eng.  trans.,  I.  p.  72. 

“Christianity  Old  and  New,”  p.  98, 


86 


CHRISTIAN  WAYS  OF  SALVATION 


constantly  saving  men,  yet  never  uttered  a  word  about 
the  philosophy  of  salvation.  Men  went  away  from 
him  in  the  pursuit  of  the  good  with  new  confidence 
and  zeal.  They  were  no  longer  oppressed  by  the  sense 
of  guilt  nor  troubled  by  the  cares  of  the  world;  were 
not  even  afraid  of  death.  For  they  were  saved,  that 
is,  they  were  children  of  God  under  the  Father’s  care. 

The  Church,  whose  members  were  called  disciples, 
saints,  and  brethren,  was  to  continue  what  Jesus  ^‘be¬ 
gan  both  to  do  and  to  teach”  while  he  was  upon  earth. 
Through  it  Christ  spoke  and  acted  by  his  spirit,  pend¬ 
ing  his  return  in  person  to  reign  in  triumph.  Yea, 
greater  things  could  his  followers  do  than  he  did.  For 
his  saving  power  was  no  longer  restrained  by  the  limi¬ 
tations  of  the  fiesh  and  the  conditions  of  his  earthly 
ministry.  What  Jesus  did  for  the  Jews  in  a  brief 
period,  his  followers  were  to  do  for  the  Gentiles,  also, 
for  an  indefinite  time.  They  were  to  be  his  ^Vitnesses 
both  in  Jerusalem,  and  in  all  Judea  and  Samaria,  and 
unto  the  uttermost  part  of  the  earth”  (Acts  1:8). 
For  they  were  the  first  fruits  of  the  kingdom,  living 
here  and  now  in  a  new  relation  to  God,  practicing  the 
new  righteousness,  and  thus  becoming  the  bearers  of 
Christ’s  salvation  to  men. 

They  were  inspired  to  action  far  beyond  the  range 
of  ordinary  human  effort.  They  performed  miracles, 
healed  the  sick,  spoke  in  tongues,  and  prophesied.  Be¬ 
sides  these  sporadic  and  spectacular  gifts,  the  Spirit 
wrought  in  them  the  abiding  virtues  of  faith,  hope,  and 
love.  The  whole  life  was  energized  and  controlled  by 
the  Spirit.  Men  lived  and  walked  in  it  (Galatians 
5:25).  Its  fruit  was  ^dove,  joy,  peace,  longsuffering, 
kindness,  goodness,  faithfulness,  meekness,  self- 
control”  (Galatians  5:22,  23). 


THE  WAYS  OF  THE  APOSTLES 


87 


Jesus  founded  primarily  a  new  fellowship,  not  a  new 
institution;  yet  the  fellowship  had  in  it  the  potencies 
of  a  new  religious  and  social  order.  They  began  to 
think  of  God  in  terms  of  his  Anointed.  He  must  be 
like  Christ.  Jesus,  the  heroic  champion  of  righteous¬ 
ness,  the  faithful  servant  of  his  fellows,  the  master  of 
disease  and  demons,  the  friend  of  sinners,  the  refuge 
of  the  weary  and  heavy-laden,  the  suffering  servant, 
the  bearer  of  the  cross  made  the  Prince  of  Life  and  the 
Lord  of  Glory — this  was  the  Messiah  for  whom  they 
now  lived  and  hoped.  God  hath  made  him  both  Lord 
and  Christ,  this  Jesus  whom  ye  crucified.  What  Jesus 
at  first  proclaimed  in  Galilee,  ‘‘the  kingdom  of  God  is 
at  hand,^’  was  thus  defined  in  the  pentecostal  sermon. 
For  Jesus  was  the  king  of  the  Kingdom;  and  like  the 
king  the  Kingdom  must  be.  Such  a  vision  of  God  in 
the  face  of  Jesus  begot  in  men  a  new  faith,  a  new  hope, 
and  a  new  love.  This  was  life  and  salvation. 

Their  faith  in  a  Christlilce  God  was  the  root  of  their 
boldness  when,  arraigned  before  the  rulers  of  Israel, 
(Acts  4:13),  they  declared  that  they  must  obey  God 
rather  than  men;  of  their  heroic  reliance  upon  God 
when  they  were  threatened  by  the  Sanhedrin  (Acts  4: 
23-31);  of  their  joy  in  the  privilege  of  suffering  dis¬ 
honor  for  the  name  of  Jesus  (Acts  5:41) ;  of  their  readi¬ 
ness  to  share  all  things  they  had  with  those  who  were  in 
need  (Acts  4:35) ;  of  their  gladness  in  the  daily  routine 
of  life  (Acts  2:41);  of  the  peace  and  joy  that  come 
from  a  sense  of  forgiveness  and  reconciliation;  of  the 
buoyant  life  by  which  they  rose  triumphant  above  a 
present  evil  and  hostile  world.  They  could  not  long 
continue  in  fellowship  with  the  Jews,  neither  could 
they  live  at  peace  with  the  Gentiles.  They  were  the 
new  and  true  Israel,  the  elect  of  God,  a  chosen  nation, 


88 


CHRISTIAN  WAYS  OF  SALVATION 


who  had  in  them  the  dynamic  for  the  religious  and 
moral  transformation  of  the  race.  They  had  some¬ 
thing  altogether  new, — the  spirit  of  Jesus.  True,  they 
were  without  formal  doctrines,  without  organization, 
without  ritual;  but  they  had  something  far  greater, — 
a  new  life  that  would  in  due  time  create  for  itself  an 
organization  and  an  institution  through  which  the  sav¬ 
ing  work  of  Christ  would  be  continued  and  the  regener¬ 
ating  power  of  God,  communicated  through  his  Son, 
would  accomplish  the  salvation  of  the  world. 

The  early  Christians  did  not  at  once  comprehend 
the  spiritual  implications  of  the  messiahship  of  Jesus. 
They  believed  in  a  new  kind  of  messiah,  but  expected 
the  old  kind  of  kingdom.  They  could  not  immediately 
revise  their  Jewish  customs  and  laws  in  the  light  of  the 
new  spirit.  Time  was  needed  for  experience  and  re¬ 
flection  to  work  the  change.  They  were  still  under 
the  spell  of  Jewish  messianic  ideas.  Their  new  hope 
was  cast  in  apocalyptic  forms.  They  were  intent  upon 
national  deliverance, — an  aspiration  naturally  revived 
by  the  risen  Lord.  This  was  clear  from  the  question: 
^‘Lord,  dost  thou  at  this  time  restore  the  kingdom  to 
Israel?’^  (Acts  1:6).  They  expected  him  to  return 
in  clouds  from  heaven,  in  like  manner  as  they  beheld 
him  going  into  heaven  (Acts  1:11).  They  looked  for¬ 
ward  to  the  time  when  he  would  come  back  to  restore 
all  things  (Acts  3:20,  21).  Their  Jewish  eschatology 
was  not  an  adequate  vessel  for  their  essentially  Chris¬ 
tian  hope. 

There  was,  consequently,  a  recrudescence  of  apoca¬ 
lyptic  ideas  in  the  Christian  community.  For  it  failed 
to  interpret  the  Messiah  in  terms  of  the  life  and  work 
of  Jesus.  It  attached  to  him  all  sorts  of  messianic 
fancies,  which  were  not  the  fruit  of  his  spirit.  It 


THE  WAYS  OF  THE  APOSTLES 


89 


thought  of  him  as  ascending  in  clouds  and  returning 
in  clouds.  It  pictured  him  as  a  mighty  conqueror  rid¬ 
ing  on  a  white  horse  at  the  head  of  the  heavenly  host 
to  destroy  the  enemies  of  God  upon  earth.  His  advent 
was  to  be  preceded  by  signals  of  war,  famine,  pestilence 
and  earthquake,  signs  in  the  heavens,  and  appearances 
of  anti-Christs  ^  upon  earth.  These  are  Jewish  images 
obscuring  the  gospel.  The  emphasis  is  shifted  from 
the  kingdom  of  God,  as  the  will  of  God  prevailing  in 
the  life  of  man  and  interpreted  by  the  historic  life  of 
Jesus,  to  last  things, — his  coming,  his  judgment,  his 
messianic  reign.  The  recrudescence  of  Jewish  beliefs 
almost  eclipsed  the  Christian  gospel.^ 

This  view  of  the  Kingdom  and  its  coming  continued 
for  more  than  a  century,  especially  among  Jewish  con¬ 
verts  and  wherever  the  gospel  was  not  brought  under 
Greek  influence.  It  was  doubtless  a  prominent  note  in 
early  preaching,  and  laid  strong  hold  of  men  during 
the  first  century.  Professor  Harnack  says: 

The  hopes  springing  out  of  Judaism  were  at  first  but 
little  modified,  that  is,  only  so  far  as  the  substitution  of  the 
Christian  communities  for  the  nation  of  Israel  made  modi¬ 
fication  necessary.  In  all  else,  even  the  details  of  the 
Jewish  hopes  were  retained,  and  the  extra-canonical  Jewish 
apocalypses  (Esra,  Enoch,  Baruch,  Moses)  were  diligently 
read  alongside  of  Daniel.  Their  contents  were  in  part 

H.uke  21:25-33;  Matt.  24:15-28;  I  Thess.  4:13-18;  Matt. 
25:31-46;  19:27-30;  II  Thess.  1:3-10;  II  Peter  3:3-14;  Revelation 
19:11  sq.;  II  Thess.  1:6-10. 

““The  preaching  of  Jesus  .  .  .  never  became  the  missionary 
preaching  of  the  later  period  even  to  the  Jews.  It  was  the  basis 
of  that  preaching  .  .  .  but  the  mission  preaching  was  occupied 
with  the  messiahship  of  Jesus,  his  speedy  return,  and  his  estab¬ 
lishment  of  God’s  kingdom  (if  Jews  were  to  be  met),  or  with  the 
unity  of  God,  creation,  the  Son  of  God,  and  judgment  (if  Gentiles 
were  to  be  reached),”  Harnack,  “Expansion  of  Christianity,”  Eng. 
trans.,  I.  pp.  47-48. 


90 


CHRISTIAN  WAYS  OF  SALVATION 


joined  to  sayings  of  Jesus,  and  they  served  as  models  for 
similar  productions.  In  the  Christian  hopes  of  the  future, 
as  in  the  Jewish  eschatology,  may  be  distinguished  essential 
and  accidental,  fixed  and  fluid,  elements:  (1)  the  notion 
of  a  final,  fearful  conflict  with  the  powers  of  the  world 
which  is  just  to  break  out,  (2)  belief  in  the  speedy  return 
of  Christ,  (3)  the  conviction  that  after  conquering  the 
secular  power  (this  was  variously  conceived,  as,  God’s 
Ministers,  as  “that  which  restrains” — II  Thess.  2:6, — as  a 
pure  kingdom  of  Satan;  see  the  various  estimates  in  Justin, 
Melito,  Irenaeus,  and  Hyppolytus),  Christ  will  estab¬ 
lish  a  glorious  kingdom  on  the  earth  and  will  raise  the 
saints  to  share  that  kingdom,  and  (4)  that  he  will  finally 
judge  all  men.  To  the  fluid  elements  belong  the  notions  of 
the  Antichrist,  or  of  the  secular  power  culminating  in  the 
Antichrist,  as  well  as  notions  about  the  place,  the  extent, 
and  the  duration  of  Christ’s  glorious  kingdom.  But  it  is 
worthy  of  special  note,  that  Justin  regarded  the  belief  that 
Christ  will  set  up  his  kingdom  in  Jerusalem,  and  that  it  will 
endure  for  a  thousand  years,  as  a  necessary  element  of 
orthodoxy,  though  he  confesses  he  knew  Christians  who  did 
not  share  this  belief,  while  they  did  not,  like  the  pseudo- 
Christians,  reject  also  the  resurrection  of  the  body.^ 

II 

Very  early,  however,  even  before  PauFs  mission, 
there  were  Christians  who  discerned  with  ever-increas¬ 
ing  clearness  the  value  of  the  present  benefits  of  Jesus’ 
redemptive  work,  to  that  extent  shifting  the  emphasis 
from  the  Christ  that  was  to  come  to  the  Christ  that 
was  with  them  now.  The  overpowering  sense  of  the 
Spirit’s  presence,  the  Christ  in  them,  was  bound  in 
time  to  check  the  ardent  hopes  of  his  future  coming. 
They  comprehended  the  inwardness  and  spirituality, 
as  well  as  the  universal  scope,  of  the  saving  work  of 
Jesus.  The  gospel  was  felt  to  be,  not  merely  a  revised 

*  “History  of  Dogma,”  Eng.  trans.,  I.  p.  167,  note  1. 


THE  WAYS  OF  THE  APOSTLES 


91 


law,  but  the  way  of  a  new  life  not  under  the  coercion 
of  law,  but  in  the  freedom  of  the  Spirit.  The  cross 
made  the  Church  distinct  from  the  synagogue,  and  the 
two  could  not  continue  to  exist  side  by  side  in  friendly 
relations.  The  separation  was  hastened  and  consum¬ 
mated  by  the  fall  of  Jerusalem  in  70  a.d. 

Stephen,  the  Hellenist,  reared  in  the  more  liberal 
atmosphere  of  the  dispersion,  was  one  of  the  first  of 
the  new  theologians.  He  was  accused  of  speaking 
blasphemous  words  against  Moses  and  against  God 
(Acts  6:11).  He  went  so  far  as  to  declare  that  ‘This 
Jesus  of  Nazareth  shall  destroy  this  place,  and  shall 
change  the  customs  which  Moses  delivered  unto  us” 
(Acts  6:14).  Not  until  then  were  the  Jews  stirred 
to  a  violence  that,  beginning  with  the  martyrdom  of 
Stephen,  continued  in  a  “great  persecution  against  the 
church  which  was  in  Jerusalem.”  But  even  those  who 
were  scattered  abroad  upon  the  tribulation  that  arose 
about  Stephen  spoke  “the  word  to  none  save  only 
to  Jews”  (Acts  11:19). 

Yet,  under  the  stress  of  human  need  and  the  guid¬ 
ance  of  the  divine  Spirit,^  the  way  gradually  opened 
to  practice  the  broader  view  of  Jesus’  mission.  Philip 
preached  to  the  circumcised  Samaritans  (Acts  8:5); 
and  Peter  went  into  the  house  of  the  uncircumcised 
Cornelius  (Acts  11:3).  The  decisive  step  was  taken 
when  men  of  Cyprus  and  Cyrene  came  to  Antioch  and 
“spake  unto  the  Greeks  also,  preaching  the  Lord 
Jesus”  (Acts  11:20).  This  group  was  later  represented 
by  James,  Peter,  and  John  at  Jerusalem,  when  Paul 
came  there  for  conference.  These  pillars  among  the 
apostles  differed  far  more  from  “the  false  brethren 
privily  brought  in”  (Galatians  2:4),  and  from  “certain 

‘‘Acts  10:9-48. 


92 


CHRISTIAN  WAYS  OF  SALVATION 


of  the  sect  of  the  Pharisees  who  believed”  and  said  that 
‘ht  is  needful  to  circumcise  them,  and  to  charge  them 
to  keep  the  law  of  Moses”  (Acts  15:5),  than  they 
differed  from  Paul.  Of  course  they  were  still  ad¬ 
ventists,  but  they  were  no  longer  nationalists.  They 
realized  that  Christianity  was  not  mainly  an  escha¬ 
tological  hope,  but  a  present  reality.  The  spirit  of 
Christ  here  and  now  assures  men  of  the  forgiveness  of 
sin,  of  divine  sonship,  of  the  providence  of  the 
heavenly  Father,  of  the  hearing  of  prayer,  of  the 
fellowship  of  brethren,  of  the  victory  of  righteousness, 
of  eternal  life.  These  blessings  remain  unimpaired 
when  the  apocalyptic  framework  falls  away. 

The  difference  of  views  on  the  purpose  of  Chris¬ 
tianity  and  the  nature  of  its  blessings  at  first  was  felt 
rather  than  defined.  It  existed  among  men  who  be¬ 
longed  to  the  same  Christian  fellowship  and  considered 
themselves  saved  (Acts  2:47).  They  were  all  disciples, 
saints,  and  brethren.  They  had  joy  in  their  hearts 
notwithstanding  temporary  griefs  through  manifold 
trials.  Their  joy  was  rooted  in  ^^a  living  hope”  be¬ 
gotten  ^^by  the  resurrection  of  Jesus  Christ  from  the 
dead.”  They  had  the  blessed  assurance  that  by  the 
power  of  God  they  “are  guarded  through  faith  unto  a 
salvation  ready  to  be  revealed  in  the  last  time”  (I 
Peter  1:5).  Once,  indeed,  they  were  “without  God 
in  the  world,”  “having  no  hope”;  but  now  their  “life 
is  hid  with  Christ  in  God.”  In  other  words,  they  have 
the  joy  and  peace  that  come  from  “the  salvation  of 
your  souls”  (I  Peter  1:9).  They  were  saved  from  the 
present  evil  world,  from  the  coming  judgment,  from 
all  that  was  transient  and  mortal  and  that  cast  a  gloom 
over  man’s  terrestrial  life  (I  Peter  1:3-9). 

This  assurance  was  not  always  based  on  the  same 


THE  WAYS  OF  THE  APOSTLES 


93 


premises.  Some  rested  confidently  on  the  speedy 
coming  of  Christ ;  others  on  the  divine  forgiveness  and 
providence;  and  others,  a  little  later  on,  on  the  effects 
of  mysteries,  the  sacrament  of  regeneration  and 
deification:  but  they  all  agreed  on  God  as  the  source 
of  salvation,  and  on  Jesus  Christ  as  its  mediator  to 
men.  He  was  declared  to  be  ^‘a  Prince  and  a  Savior, 
to  give  repentance  to  Israel  and  remission  of  sins’ ^ 
(Acts  5:31).  Men  were  saved  in  both  a  corporate  and 
an  individual  way.  Union  with  the  body  of  believers 
was  taken  for  granted.  The  condition  of  union,  how¬ 
ever,  was  personal  repentance  and  faith.  Baptism  was 
the  rite  of  initiation  sealing  to  each  recipient  all  the 
privileges  of  the  fellowship.  The  death  of  Christ  was 
the  assurance  of  the  forgiveness  of  sin;  and  the  resur¬ 
rection  was  the  pledge  of  life  eternal  and  the  confirma¬ 
tion  of  the  expectation  of  the  return  of  Jesus  to  reign 
with  power.  Every  member  of  the  Church  received  the 
Spirit;  imparted,  not  through  sacramental  media,  but 
immediately  by  the  ascended  Christ.  ^‘They  were  all 
filled  with  the  Holy  Spirit”  (Acts  2:4;  4:31),  or  ^The 
Holy  Spirit  fell  on  all  them  that  heard  the  word”  (Acts 
10:44),  or  ^‘Then  laid  they  their  hands  on  them,  and 
they  received  the  Holy  Spirit”  (Acts  8:17).  The  Spirit 
did  not  come,  however,  in  a  magical  way,  without 
human  preparation.  Men  received  it  only  when  they 
had  the  attitude  of  faith  that  approved  itself  by 
obedience.  “So  is  the  Holy  Spirit,  whom  God  hath 
given  to  them  that  obey  him”  (Acts  5:32).  There 
were  degrees,  as  well  as  diversities,  of  gifts.  The  Spirit 
could  not  work  with  equal  power  in  all  Christians. 

Though  the  first  Christians  continued  to  go  into  the 
temple  and  the  synagogues,  they  had  distinctive  re¬ 
ligious  services.  “They  continued  steadfastly  in  the 


94 


CHRISTIAN  WAYS  OF  SALVATION 


apostles’  teaching  and  fellowship,  in  the  breaking  of 
bread  and  the  prayers”  (Acts  2:42).  ^^Breaking  bread 
at  home,  they  took  their  food  with  gladness  and  single¬ 
ness  of  heart,  praising  God”  (Acts  2:46,  47).  The 
love  feast  and  the  Lord’s  Supper  became  a  central  act 
of  worship :  not  yet  a  sacrament  in  the  Catholic  sense, 
but  a  symbol  of  the  unbroken  fellowship  of  the  believer 
with  Christ  and  with  his  fellows.®  It  was,  also,  a 
prophetic  anticipation  of  the  kingdom  consummated  at 
his  advent. 

The  subjective  condition  for  the  appropriation  of 
salvation  was  faith.  This  was  more  than  the  acceptance 
of  historic  facts  or  of  a  prophetic  program,  though  it 
included  these.  It  was  a  trustful  surrender  to  Christ, 
by  whom  the  believer  was  saved.  Power,  more  than 
human,  came  into  men;  delivered  them  from  their 
sins;  and  made  them  children  of  God,  citizens  of  the 
Kingdom.  There  was,  at  this  stage,  neither  creed  nor 
book  as  the  object  of  faith.  They  trusted  and  hoped 
in  the  living  Jesus,  whom  God  raised  from  the  dead 
and  exalted  into  glory. 

The  latent  differences  about  the  scope  and  way  of 
salvation  came  to  light  when  the  question  was  raised, 
whether  or  not  the  Gentiles  were  to  be  admitted  into 
the  Church;  and,  if  so,  on  what  conditions.  The 

®“Yet,  while  mysterious,  as  being  supernatural  or  Hod-produced,’ 
the  sacramental  grace  did  not  come  actually  in  and  through  sym¬ 
bols,  but  simply  on  occasion  of  their  use.  Thus  in  Baptism  the 
gift  of  the  Spirit  through  Messiah,  which  ‘sealed’  believers  for  the 
Kingdom  (still  in  the  main  future),  was  experienced  sensibly  as 
‘the  powers  of  the  age  to  come.’  So  too  was  it  with  the  less 
ecstatic,  more  normal  grace  experienced  in  the  recurrent  sacrament 
of  the  Breaking  of  Bread  in  memory  of  Christ,  when  ‘worthily’ 
observed,  in  faith  and  in  love  to  the  brethren.  Its  outward  form 
was,  in  fact,  like  all  prophetic  symbolism,  a  dramatic  object  lesson, 
in  the  poetic  spirit  of  Hebraic,  and  indeed  Semitic  psychology,  to 
which  the  symbol  remains  nothing  save  in  relation  to  its  effect  on 
the  soul.” — Bartlett  and  Carlyle,  “Christianity  in  History,”  p.  149* 


THE  WAYS  OF  THE  APOSTLES 


95 


answers  to  these  questions  presupposed  the  way  of 
salvation.  Where  the  eschatological  hopes  were  upper¬ 
most,  salvation  was  something  to  be  achieved  in  the 
future.  Christianity  itself  was  taken  to  be  the  ripe 
product  of  the  Jewish  religion,  the  way  of  realizing 
the  messianic  hopes  by  the  return  of  the  Messiah.  The 
Kingdom  was  still  supposed  to  be  largely  political  in 
character  and  national  in  scope.  The  conditions  of 
salvation  naturally  included  the  Jewish  law  and 
the  Christian  gospel.  Even  forgiveness  of  sin  and 
righteousness  were  viewed  in  a  moral  rather  than  a 
religious  sense.  Eternal  life  was  considered  to  be 
the  wages  of  moral  living  instead  of  the  free  gift 
of  God. 

Men  who  held  these  views — sincerely,  we  assume — 
became  the  bitter  antagonists  of  Paul.  They  insisted 
that,  ^^except  ye  be  circumcised  after  the  custom  of 
Moses,  ye  cannot  be  saved.^’  They  went  further  and 
preached  the  gospel  to  none  save  only  to  Jews.  They 
made  of  Jesus  a  second  Moses  who  proclaimed  a  new 
law  and  who  made  salvation  depend  on  the  merit  of 
man  instead  of  on  the  grace  of  God. 

Where  the  eschatological  hopes  were  offset  by  a  high 
valuation  of  the  present  blessings  of  the  gospel  through 
the  indwelling  Spirit,  there  salvation  came  to  be  re¬ 
garded  as  designed  for  Jew  and  Gentile,  for  man  as 
man;  and  its  conditions  were  not  a  blend  of  Jewish 
law  and  Christian  faith,  but  the  acceptance  of  the 
free  gift  of  God  through  faith.  The  Kingdom  ceased 
to  be  considered  as  a  political  order,  and  became  a 
spiritual  possession — a  life  rooted  in  grace  and  truth 
manifested  by  Jesus  Christ.  God  alone  can  give  it; 
faith  alone  can  receive  it. 

Before  Paul  there  were  in  the  Church  those  who 


96 


CHRISTIAN  WAYS  OF  SALVATION 


looked  beyond  the  boundaries  of  Judaism,  and  who 
dimly  comprehended  the  spirituality  and  universality 
of  Jesus’  message.  They  were  not  quite  ready  to  join 
with  Paul,  but  they  leaned  his  way."^  They  recognized 
his  work  among  the  Gentiles,  and  extended  the  right 
hand  of  fellowship  to  him  (Galatians  2:9);  with  the 
proviso,  however,  that  they  should  go  unto  the  cir¬ 
cumcision,  and  Paul  unto  the  Gentiles.  In  the  account 
in  Acts  15:19-20  the  compromise  is  made  on  different 
terms.  ^‘Wherefore  my  judgment  is,”  said  Peter,  ^That 
we  trouble  not  them  that  from  among  the  Gentiles 
turn  to  God;  but  that  we  write  unto  them,  that  they 
abstain  from  the  pollutions  of  idols,  and  from  fornica¬ 
tion,  and  from  what  is  strangled,  and  from  blood.” 
The  leaders  of  the  liberal  party  in  the  early  Christian 
community  were  Peter  and  John  and  James;  yet  even 
Peter  hedged  when  the  test  came  and  trained  with 
the  narrow  party  in  Jerusalem.  For  a  time  he  ate  with 
the  Gentiles  at  Antioch;  but,  when  certain  came  from 
James,  he  and  Barnabas  drew  back,  ^Tearing  them  that 
were  of  the  circumcision”  (Galatians  2:12).  This  was 
only  a  temporary  relapse  into  the  Jewish  Christian 
position,  not  a  permanent  acceptance  of  it.  These 
men  prepared  the  way  for  Paul,  and  in  time  were 
merged  in  the  Gentile  church. 


Ill 

Paul  was  epoch-making  in  his  interpretation  of  sal- 

’  Weizsacker  (‘‘Apos.  Zeitalter,”  Eng.  trans.,  I.  p.  74  sg.)  emphasizes 
the  fact  that  before  Paul,  and  alongside  of  him,  the  view  prevailed, 
that  the  law  and  its  observance  were  not  sufficient  for  justification 
before  God,  and  that  a  soteriological  significance  attached  to  Jesus 
the  Messiah  or  to  his  death. 


THE  WAYS  OF  THE  APOSTLES 


97 


vation:  *  indeed  he  was  the  first  to  present  a  theory 
of  it.  In  his  approach  to  Christ  and  his  experience  of 
his  saving  power, — his  consciousness  of  having  been 
^daid  hold  on  by  Christ  Jesus”  (Philippians  3:12), — 
he  differed  wholly  from  the  earlier  disciples.  They 
knew  him  after  the  flesh  as  the  man  of  Galilee;  he 
knew  him  in  the  spirit  as  the  man  from  heaven  (II 
Corinthians  5:16).  Yet,  like  them,  he  felt  himself 
saved.  His  life  was  changed.  He  broke  with  the  past: 
the  persecutor  became  a  preacher.  He  lived  for  the 
future,  with  new  motives  and  purposes,  and  with  a 
new  estimate  of  values.  Undreamt  of  powers  awoke 
in  him.  He  saw  visions,  spoke  with  tongues,  caught 
glimpses  of  the  heavenly  world,  rejoiced  in  the  un¬ 
speakable  blessedness  born  of  a  sense  of  reconciliation 
with  God  and  of  a  life  spent  in  the  service  of  men,  was 
upheld  by  the  hope  of  eternal  life,  felt  himself  debtor 
to  Jew  and  Gentile,  under  an  irresistible  urge  under¬ 
took  superhuman  tasks  “through  him  that  strength- 
eneth  me.”  He  was  describing  himself  when  he  said: 
“If  any  man  is  in  Christ,  he  is  a  new  creature:  the  old 
things  are  passed  away ;  behold,  they  are  become  new” 
(II  Corinthians  5:17). 

Moreover,  he  saw  the  same  transformation  in  those 
about  him.  The  glory  on  the  face  of  Stephen  haunted 
him.  The  Spirit  working  in  his  converts  confirmed  his 

far  as  we  can  judge,  it  was  Paul  who  first  threw  into  such 
sharp  relief  the  significance  of  Jesus  Christ  as  a  Redeemer,  making 
this  the  central  point  of  Christian  preaching.  No  doubt,  the  older 
missionaries  had,  also,  taught  and  preached  that  Christ  died  for 
our  sins  (I  Cor.  15:3);  but  in  so  far  as  they  addressed  Jews  or 
people  who  had  for  some  time  been  in  contact  with  Judaism,  it 
was  natural  that  they  should  confine  themselves  to  preaching  the 
imminence  of  judgment,  and  also  to  the  task  of  proving  irom 
the  Old  Testament  that  the  crucified  Jesus  was  to  return  as  the 
Judge  and  the  Lord  of  the  messianic  kingdom.” — Harnack,  “Expan¬ 
sion  of  Christianity,”  Eng.  trans.,  I.  p.  474. 


98 


CHRISTIAN  WAYS  OF  SALVATION 


own  experience.  They,  too,  spoke  with  tongues, 
prophesied,  healed  the  sick,  and  shared  in  righteous¬ 
ness  and  peace  and  joy  in  the  Holy  Spirit. 

How  was  the  new  life,  the  way  of  salvation,  to  be 
accounted  for?  Paul’s  thinking  was  doubtless  con¬ 
trolled  by  his  experience.  He  was  born  a  Jew  of  the 
dispersion  in  the  Greek  city  of  Tarsus.  He  grew  up 
as  a  Pharisee,  advanced  in  the  Jews’  religion  beyond 
many  of  his  own  countrymen,  being  more  exceedingly 
zealous  for  the  tradition  of  his  fathers  (Galatians 
1:14).  He  was  by  nature  a  religious  genius,  concerned 
with  the  primary  problem  of  religion,  how  to  become 
just  before  God.  The  desire  for  personal  righteousness 
interested  him  far  more  than  the  realization  of  the 
national  messianic  hopes  of  his  kinsmen,  which  at  best 
were  of  secondary  import.  This  is  precisely  what  one 
would  expect  from  a  man  like  Paul,  with  so  profound 
a  sense  of  the  ethical  demands  of  religion. 

Fie  tried  all  the  devices  of  Judaism  to  solve  his  prob¬ 
lem.  He  punctiliously  kept  all  the  commandments. 
According  to  the  righteousness  of  the  law,  he  was 
blameless.  Yet  he  discovered  the  futility  of  the  at¬ 
tempt  to  make  himself  just.  His  pharisaism  ended  in 
dismal  failure.  He  found  himself  hopelessly  entangled 
in  the  sinful  passions  of  the  flesh.  He  was  carnal,  and 
sold  under  sin.  ‘Tor  the  good  which  I  would  I  do 
not:  but  the  evil  which  I  would  not,  that  I  practise” 
(Romans  7:19).  He  was  in  captivity  under  the  law 
of  sin  in  his  members  (Romans  7:23).  Having  done 
the  utmost,  he  ended  with  a  cry  of  despair:  “Wretched 
man  that  I  am !  who  shall  deliver  me  out  of  the  body  of 
this  death?”  (Romans  7:24). 

He  discovered  the  impotence  of  law  and  of  human 
effort  to  save;  for  reliance  upon  obedience  ends  either 


THE  WAYS  OF  THE  APOSTLES 


99 


in  spiritual  pride  growing  out  of  a  sense  of  personal 
merit,  or  in  hopeless  despair  resulting  from  a  sense  of 
absolute  inability.  The  law  convinces  one  of  sin,  but 
is  powerless  to  make  one  righteous. 

What  he  failed  to  obtain  by  law,  he  received  as  a 
gift  of  grace,  even  ‘The  Spirit  of  life  in  Christ  Jesus” 
(Romans  8:2).  “For  what  the  law  could  not  do,  in 
that  it  was  weak  through  the  flesh,  God,  sending  his 
own  Son  in  the  likeness  of  sinful  flesh  and  for  sin, 
condemned  sin  in  the  flesh:  that  the  ordinance  of  the 
law  might  be  fulfilled  in  us,  who  walk  not  after  the 
flesh,  but  after  the  Spirit”  (Romans  8:3,  4).  Again, 
“I  through  the  law  died  unto  the  law,  that  I  might 
live  unto  God”  (Galatians  2:19).  He  was  not  under 
law,  but  under  grace;  with  the  Spirit  of  his  Son  in 
his  heart,  crying,  Abba,  Father  (Galatians  4:5,  6). 
He  was  freed  “from  the  law  of  sin  and  of  death”  (Rom. 
8:2),  and  had  come  under  the  power  of  “the  Spirit  of 
life  in  Christ  Jesus” — a  new  principle,  or  dynamic, 
which  superseded  the  old  law.  Now  he  can  fulfil  “the 
ordinance  of  the  law,”  for  he  walks  no  longer  “after  the 
flesh,  but  after  the  Spirit”  (Rom.  8:4).  The  Chris¬ 
tian  is  in  one  sense  the  object  and  instrument  of  divine 
power,  in  a  passive  state;  yet  in  another  sense  he  is 
free  and  active,  for  “where  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord  is, 
there  is  liberty”  (II  Corinthians  3:17).  This  ex¬ 
perience  was  the  fontal  source  of  the  religious  and 
ethical  enthusiasm  which  is  characteristic  of  primitive 
Christianity.  The  believer  is  no  longer  a  servant  work¬ 
ing  for  wages,  but  a  son  enjoying  an  inheritance.  He 
exults  in  the  triumphant  assurance  that  he  is  not  under 
condemnation,  and  that  nothing  can  separate  him  from 
the  love  of  God  which  is  in  Christ  Jesus  our  Lord 
(Romans  8:1,  39). 


100 


CHRISTIAN  WAYS  OF  SALVATION 


Ill  solving  his  own  religious  problem,  he  solved  the 
supreme  problem  of  the  race.  For,  sooner  or  later, 
every  man  must  adjust  himself  to  his  God.  Wherever 
there  is  a  desire  for  righteousness,  and  the  conscious¬ 
ness  of  failure  in  its  pursuit,  there  Paul  offers  a  mes¬ 
sage  of  glad  tidings,  a  satisfactory  answer  to  the  souFs 
deepest  need.  On  this  account  he  was  called  to  preach 
Christ  to  the  Gentiles,  and  felt  himself  debtor  to 
Greeks  and  to  Barbarians,  both  to  the  wise  and  to  the 
foolish  (Romans  1:14).  He  had  discovered  the  power 
of  God  unto  salvation  to  every  one  that  believeth;  to 
the  Jew  first  and  also  to  the  Greeks  (Romans  1:16). 
He  thus  lifted  the  gospel  out  of  the  narrow  confines  of 
Palestine,  and  proclaimed  it  to  men  of  all  lands  and 
times.  He  was  the  first  to  say:  ^‘There  can  be  neither 
Jew  nor  Greek,  bond  nor  free.^^ 

In  his  own  helplessness  he  discerned  the  depravity 
of  the  race  as  a  whole.  Jew  and  Gentile  were  equally 
under  sin  and  condemnation.  By  the  works  of  the  law 
no  flesh  shall  be  justified  (Galatians  2:16).  The  pres¬ 
ent  world  is  evil  (Galatians  1:4).  The  whole  creation 
was  subjected  to  vanity,  in  hope  that  it  also  shall  be 
delivered  from  the  bondage  of  corruption  into  the 
liberty  of  the  glory  of  the  children  of  God  (Romans 
8:20).  There  is  also  an  invisible  world  of  evil,  com¬ 
posed  of  principalities,  powers,  world-rulers  of  this 
darkness,  and  spiritual  hosts  of  wickedness  in  the 
heavenly  places  (Ephesians  6:12). 

The  reach  of  sin  and  of  the  powers  of  evil  in  the 
universe  has  its  counterpart  in  the  wideness  of  the 
scope  of  ChrisPs  redemptive  work.  He  must  reign 
until  he  hath  put  all  his  enemies  under  his  feet.  Death 
itself  will  be  abolished.  In  the  end  the  Son  also  shall 
be  subjected  unto  him  that  did  subject  all  things,  that 


THE  WAYS  OF  THE  APOSTLES 


101 


God  may  be  all  in  all  (I  Corinthians  15:25-28).  Be¬ 
fore  this  sublime  drama  of  redemption  one  stands  in 
awe  and  admiration.  It  far  exceeded  the  vision  of  the 
apostles  before  Paul.  No  wonder  that  ^hn  all  his 
epistles’’  they  found  ^'some  things  hard  to  be  under¬ 
stood”  (II  Peter  3:16). 

The  ground  of  salvation  is  the  crucified  and  risen 
Lord.  That  which  was  to  the  Jews  a  stumbhng-block 
became  to  the  apostle  a  stepping-stone.  Not  the 
teacher,  not  the  miracle-worker,  not  the  protagonist  of 
the  Pharisees,  was  for  Paul  the  chief  thing.  The 
crucified  and  risen  Son  of  God  is  alone  significant. 
Through  the  cross  the  gospel  of  divine  love  and  grace 
was  made  manifest.  ^Tar  be  it  from  me  to  glory,  save 
in  the  cross  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ”  (Galatians  6:14). 
In  terms  of  Jewish  and  Greek  thought  he  explains  the 
mystery  of  redemption;  the  efl&cacy  of  which,  let  it 
always  be  remembered,  does  not  depend  upon  the  ade¬ 
quacy  of  the  theory  by  which  it  is  interpreted.^ 

The  unmerited  death  of  Jesus  is  the  source  of  all 
salvation.  He  died  for  our  sins  according  to  the  Scrip¬ 
tures.  Paul  clearly  says  that  he  gave  ^^Christ  crucified” 
the  central  place  in  his  message.  ^^But  we  preach 
Christ  crucified”  (I  Corinthians  1:23).  The  word  of 
the  cross  is  the  power  of  God  unto  us  who  are  saved 
(I  Corinthians  1:18).  Thus  Christ  is  announced  as 
the  Savior.  So  much  Paul  held  in  common  with  the 
early  Christians  (I  Corinthians  15:3);  in  his  theory, 
however,  he  was  far  beyond  them.  The  cross  was  the 
price  paid  for  redemption. It  was  a  propitiation 
through  sacrifice  (Romans  5:10;  Galatians  3:13), — 

®  See  addendum  at  end  of  this  chapter. 

^®“But,  if  we  are  not  to  read  into  Paul’s  words  what  is  not 
there,  we  must  not  ask  to  whom  the  price  is  paid.”  Art.  “Erlosung,” 
“Religion  in  Geschichte  und  Gegenwart,”  II.  p.  478. 


102 


CHRISTIAN  WAYS  OF  SALVATION 


an  idea  which  he  reiterates  in  his  epistles  with  varia¬ 
tions,  now  in  legal  and  then  in  ceremonial  terms 
(Galatians  3:13;  Romans  5:6,  7).  The  sacrificial 
motive  was  not  in  men,  but  in  the  heart  of  God,  ^Vho 
commended  his  own  love  toward  us,  .  .  .  while  we 
were  yet  sinners”  (Romans  5:8).  The  sacrifice  is  not 
for  Jews  only,  but  for  men  generally.  The  cross  is  in 
the  center  of  human  history,  even  of  the  material  and 
the  spiritual  universe  (Colossians  1:20).  Other  sacri¬ 
fices  are  forever  superseded  through  the  sacrifice  of 
Calvary,  made  once,  but  of  force  always. 

Through  his  death  Christ  delivered  us  from  sin  and 
this  present  evil  world  (Galatians  1:4),  from  the  law 
and  death  (Galatians  3:13  and  4:5),  from  the  wrath  of 
God  and  condemnation  (Romans  5:9).  Sin  in  the 
flesh  was  condemned  (Romans  8:3);  the  law  was 
^^blotted  out”  (Colossians  2:14);  and  we  are  dis¬ 
charged  from  it,  having  died  to  that  wherein  we  were 
held  (Romans  7:4-6). 

In  Romans  5:18-19  there  is  a  clear  summary  of 
PauFs  theory  of  redemption:  “So  then  as  through  one 
trespass  the  judgment  came  unto  all  men  to  condemna¬ 
tion;  even  so  through  one  act  of  righteousness  the  free 
gift  came  unto  all  men  to  justification  of  life.  For  as 
through  the  one  man's  disobedience  the  many  were 
made  sinners,  even  so  through  the  obedience  of  the 
one  shall  the  many  be  made  righteous.” 

The  death  of  Jesus,  however,  must  not  be  held 
apart  from  his  resurrection.  The  risen  Lord  showed 
the  worth  of  the  crucified  Christ.  God  himself  vindi¬ 
cated  his  Son  by  raising  him  from  the  dead,  and  bore 
witness  to  the  divine  value  of  his  death.  The  dominion 
of  death  itself  was  broken  and  the  power  of  an  endless 
life  was  made  manifest.  Men  were  controlled  by  a 


THE  WAYS  OF  THE  APOSTLES 


103 


new  ethical  motive.  ^^He  died  for  all,  that  they  that 
live  should  no  longer  live  unto  themselves,  but  unto 
him  who  for  their  sakes  died  and  rose  again”  (II 
Corinthians  5:15).  Through  his  death  men  were 
delivered  from  the  legal  and  servile  conception  of 
religion,  and  lived  in  the  spirit  of  trust,  gratitude,  and 
love.  They  died  with  him  unto  sin  and  rose  with  him 
unto  holiness.  A  lively  hope  was  begotten  in  men; 
who  now  turned  with  eager  longing  toward  the  general 
resurrection  and  the  world  to  come. 

If  we  are  reconciled  through  the  death  of  Christ, 
we  shall  be  saved  through  his  life.  From  him  who 
ascended  on  high  and  led  captivity  captive  (Ephesians 
4:8),  men  received  the  Spirit,  the  Spirit  of  his  Son 
into  their  hearts,  crying,  Abba,  Father  (Galatians  4:6). 
For  they  were  not  in  the  flesh  but  in  the  Spirit,  if  so 
be  that  the  Spirit  of  God  dwelt  in  them  (Romans  8:9). 

To  have  the  Spirit  of  Christ  is  to  have  salvation. 
Thus  men  are  in  mystical  union  with  God  through 
faith,  and  have  both  the  substance  and  the  promise 
of  the  Kingdom  (Romans  8:11).  The  emphasis  is 
shifted  from  the  future  to  the  present.  As  Christ 
died  on  the  cross,  the  Christian  dies  unto  sin.  He  is 
buried  with  Christ  through  baptism  into  death;  that 
like  as  Christ  was  raised  from  the  dead  through  the 
glory  of  the  Father,  so  we  also  might  walk  in  newness 
of  life  (Romans  6:4).  He  is  to  live  in  the  Spirit  and 
seek  the  things  that  are  above,  where  Christ  is,  seated 
on  the  right  hand  of  God  (Colossians  3:1).  His  citi¬ 
zenship  is  in  heaven. 

Paul’s  conception  of  salvation  was  shaped  by  his 
view  of  human  nature  and  of  the  indwelling  Spirit. 
Believing,  as  he  did,  that  man’s  nature  is  inherently 
evil, — the  root  of  sin,  the  body  of  this  death,  incapable 


104 


CHRISTIAN  WAYS  OF  SALVATION 


of  the  higher  life, — he  held  that  it  was  radically  trans¬ 
formed  by  a  new  divine  principle,  coming  from  God 
through  Christ  and  received  by  man  through  faith. 
The  carnal  man  becomes  a  spiritual  man,  renewed  in 
his  whole  being  and  destined  to  immortality.  is 
one  of  the  facts,’’  says  Kirsopp  Lake,  ‘Vhich  we  have 
to  take  as  beyond  dispute,  that  the  Greek  who  was 
converted  to  Christianity  by  St.  Paul  did  believe  that 
he  actually  had  obtained  a  changed  nature.”  Salva¬ 
tion  is  thus  a  present  reality  and  not  simply  a  future 
hope.  Wellhausen  says: 

Paul’s  special  work  was  to  transform  the  gospel  of  the 
kingdom  into  the  gospel  of  Jesus  Christ,  so  that  the  gospel 
is  no  longer  a  prophecy  of  the  coming  kingdom  but  its 
actual  fulfillment  of  Jesus  Christ.  In  his  view,  accordingly, 
redemption  from  something  in  the  future  has  become  some¬ 
thing  which  already  has  happened  and  is  now  present.  He 
lays  far  more  emphasis  on  faith  than  on  hope;  he  antici¬ 
pates  the  sense  of  future  bliss  in  the  present  feeling  of  being 
God’s  son;  he  vanquishes  death  and  already  leads  a  new 
life  on  earth.  He  extols  the  strength  that  is  made  perfect 
in  weakness;  the  grace  of  God  is  sufficient  for  him,  and  he 
knows  that  no  power,  present  or  future,  can  take  him  from 
his  love  and  that  all  things  work  together  for  good  to  them 
that  love  God.^^ 

Thus  Paul  completed  and,  in  his  own  way,  defined 
the  tendency  in  primitive  Christianity  which  stressed 
present  experience  more  than  future  hopes.  He  was 
the  lineal  successor  of  Stephen  and  those  who  leaned 
toward  the  spiritual  and  ethical  interpretation  of 
Christ’s  work  without  reference  to  time  and  place.  He 
recognizes  salvation  as  already  accomplished.  The 
spiritual  resurrection  takes  place  here.  The  future 

““Stewardship  of  Faith,”  p.  105;  also,  “Landmarks  in  the  History 
of  Early  Christianity,”  p.  58. 

“Quoted  in  Harnack,  “What  is  Christianity?”  Eng.  trans.,  p.  178. 


THE  WAYS  OF  THE  APOSTLES 


105 


resurrection  is  only  the  completion  of  the  present 
resurrection,  an  exchange  of  the  carnal  for  the  spiritual 
body  of  the  life  to  come. 

Yet  Paul  by  no  means  dispenses  with  eschatology. 
It  plays  no  small  part  in  his  view  of  salvation;  which 
is  a  matter  of  the  future  as  well  as  of  the  present,  of 
hope  as  well  as  of  faith.  For  the  sinful  nature  of  a 
man  is  changed  only  in  principle.  He  must  become 
what  by  the  grace  of  God  he  is.  He  must  gradually 
subdue  flesh  and  sin,  suffering  and  death,  sustained  in 
the  struggle  by  faith  in  the  present  Christ  and  hope  in 
the  coming  glory.  In  his  epistles  Paul  invariably  holds 
out  the  coming  Lord  and  the  consummation  of  the  age 
as  an  inspiring  hope  and  a  moral  motive.  All  that  is 
hostile  to  God  must  be  brought  low:  angelic  and 
demonic  powers,  death  itself,  must  be  vanquished.  All 
creation  must  be  delivered  from  corruption  and  become 
radiant  with  glory.  The  redeemed  will  lay  off  this 
mortal  body  and  put  on  spiritual  bodies  like  unto  his 
own  glorious  body;  and  they  shall  be  forever  with  the 
Lord. 

Blending  with  this  picture  of  the  future  are  tradi¬ 
tional  details,  derived  from  Jewish  sources;  such  as  the 
Antichrist,  the  coming  of  the  Messiah,  the  restoration 
of  Israel,  the  day  of  judgment,  the  millennium,  and 
paradise.  The  process  of  change  is  also  described  in 
Jewish  fashion  as  effected  by  divine  fiat,  and  attended 
with  many  wonders  and  catastrophes.  These  are  rem¬ 
nants  of  an  earlier  mode  of  thought,  which  the  apostle 
in  principle  outlived,  and  yet  in  fact  had  not  yet  dis¬ 
carded.  They  are  not  an  essential  part  of  his  gospel 
and  are  hard  to  reconcile  with  his  theory  of  salvation. 
In  this  respect  he  unconsciously  conformed  to  a  law 
of  religious  development,  as  defined  by  the  Dean  of 


106 


CHRISTIAN  WAYS  OF  SALVATION 


St.  PauFs,  London :  ^‘Religion  never  casts  off  her  dead 
branches;  she  leaves  them  on  the  tree  till  they  drop 
off  of  themselves.’’ 

The  idea  of  the  Parousia,  however,  recedes  into  the 
horizon  of  Paul’s  vision,  while  the  indwelling  Christ 
comes  into  the  center  of  his  thought.  The  heart  of  his 
message  in  reference  to  the  future  is,  like  that  of  Jesus, 
the  blessed  assurance  that  we  shall  ever  be  with  the 
Lord  (I  Thessalonians  4:17). 

For  many  Christians,  then  and  even  now,  this  con¬ 
ception  of  last  things  is  too  refined  and  sublimated  to 
appeal  to  the  imagination.  They  find  more  satisfac¬ 
tion  in  the  picturesque  symbolism  of  the  Apocalypse, 
and  in  this  they  nurture  their  hopes  rather  than  in 
the  idealism  of  Paul’s  epistles. 

Paul  also  propounded  a  new  conception  of  the  per¬ 
son  of  Christ.  Out  of  his  soteriology  came  a  corre¬ 
sponding  christology.  The  naive  views  of  Jesus  held 
by  the  primitive  Christians  were  not  adequate  to 
account  for  all  the  facts  in  his  life.  They  thought  of 
him  as  Son  of  God  in  the  messianic  or  official  sense, 
after  the  analogy  of  the  Second  Psalm,  v.  7:  ^Thou 
art  my  son;  this  day  have  I  begotten  thee.”  To  the 
Jew  this  was  no  more  than  an  official  relation  between 
God  and  his  Anointed,  without  a  thought  of  meta¬ 
physical  sonship.  Such  a  theory  was  not  adequate  to 
explain  the  filial  consciousness  of  Jesus,  and  the  con¬ 
tent  of  Christian  experience,  especially  that  of  Paul. 
He  beheld  Jesus  as  the  man  ^Trom  heaven.”  He  spoke 
of  him  as  “declared  to  be  the  Son  of  God  with  power, 
according  to  the  spirit  of  holiness,  by  the  resurrection 
from  the  dead”  (Romans  1:4).  His  death  he  re- 

“The  Constructive  Quarterly  Review,  July,  1913,  Quoted  by 
Bartlett  and  Carlyle,  “Christianity  in  History,”  p.  69. 


THE  WAYS  OF  THE  APOSTLES 


107 


garded  not  only  as  having  value  for  all  men,  but  as 
having  profound  significance  for  God.  The  sinful 
nature  of  men  was  transformed  by  the  Spirit  of  life 
proceeding  from  Christ.  All  this  lifted  Jesus  out  of 
the  realm  of  the  merely  human  into  the  sphere  of 
the  transcendent  and  divine..  In  principle,  power,  and 
function  he  is  one  with  God.  In  him  there  is  an  ele¬ 
ment  that  is  not  in  other  men :  he  is  man,  but  far  more. 
He  is  in  a  unique  sense  divine. 

Paul,  accordingly,  gave  new  meaning  to  the  mes¬ 
sianic  term  ^^Son  of  God.’’  He  declared  him  to  have 
existed  with  God  before  he  came  upon  earth.  He 
took  the  form  of  a  servant,  being  made  in  the  likeness 
of  men;  he  became  obedient  unto  death.  Wherefore 
God  highly  exalted  him  and  gave  him  a  name  that  is 
above  every  name  (Philippians  2:6-11).  He  speaks 
of  him  also  as  the  ^^man  from  heaven,”  as  ^The  last 
Adam,”  in  distinction  from  “the  first  man  Adam.”  The 
former  was  a  ^life-giving  spirit,”  the  head  of  a  new 
species  of  man;  the  latter  was  a  living  soul,  the  head 
of  the  natural  and  sinful  man.  Through  the  one  all 
die,  and  through  the  other  shall  all  be  made  alive.  This 
whole  transaction,  however,  is  controlled  by  an  ethical 
motive.  Jesus  became  man  for  the  sake  of  obedience 
and  service,  that  through  him  men  might  be  saved, 
and  that  in  him  they  might  have  an  ideal  and  example 
of  conduct.  “The  Son  of  God  became  man  such  as  we 
are,  that  we  men  might  become  Sons  of  God  as  He  is.” 

This  sublime  scheme  of  redemption,  in  its  cosmic 
and  historical  scope  so  magnificently  wrought  out  in 
the  fifteenth  chapter  of  First  Corinthians,  prepares 
the  way  for,  and  contains  the  substance  of,  the  doctrine 
of  the  incarnate  Logos  in  the  Gospel  of  John;  and 
both,  when  carried  to  their  logical  conclusions,  annul 


108 


CHRISTIAN  WAYS  OF  SALVATION 


the  messianic  hopes  of  the  early  Christians.  One  can¬ 
not  fail  to  recognize,  however,  that  in  building  a  christ- 
ology  upon  the  heavenly  man,  rather  than  upon  the 
historical  Jesus,  the  door  is  opened  for  christological 
speculations  which  in  time  will  overshadow  the  Christ 
of  history.  What  Jesus  taught  men,  without  reference 
to  a  metaphysical  or  cosmic  background,  by  living  a 
human  life  among  them,  Paul  teaches  by  describing  the 
humility  and  obedience,  even  unto  death,  of  the  Son 
of  God  who  came  down  from  heaven.  To  prevent  the 
Pauline  speculation  from  becoming  merely  an  in¬ 
tellectual  dogma,  without  religious  value,  we  need  to 
relate  it  constantly  to  the  man  of  Galilee  in  the 
Gospels. 

It  remains  for  us  to  consider  the  ways  by  which  the 
Spirit  of  Christ  comes  into  men  and  effects  his  saving 
work.  According  to  Paul,  the  condition  on  man’s  part 
is  faith;  and  the  media  through  which  the  Spirit 
operates  are  the  Word  of  God,  the  Church,  and  the 
Sacraments. 

\  Faith  is  an  attitude  and  a  disposition  of  trust  and 
surrender  to  Christ  and  his  Spirit.  The  redemptive 
power  of  Christ,  revealed  in  him  crucified,  risen,  glori¬ 
fied  and  coming,  has  free  and  unhindered  play  in  the 
mind  and  heart  of  man.  It  is  the  Spirit  that  evidences 
itself  in  works  of  faith,  labors  of  love,  and  patience  of 
hope.  It  is  attended  with  the  assurance  and  peace 
that  come  with  reconciliation  and  sonship.  True,  there 
are  occasional  passages  in  Paul’s  epistles,  which,  taken 
alone,  seem  to  resolve  faith  into  assent  to  doctrinal 
statements  relating  to  the  Lordship  of  Jesus,  the  resur¬ 
rection  from  the  dead,  and  vicarious  sacrifice.  Romans 
10:9  at  once  comes  to  mind:  ^Tf  thou  shalt  confess 
with  thy  mouth  Jesus  as  Lord,  and  shalt  believe  in 


THE  WAYS  OF  THE  APOSTLES 


109 


thy  heart  that  God  raised  him  from  the  dead,  thou 
shalt  be  saved.”  Passages  like  these,  however,  must 
be  read  in  connection  with  those  which  set  forth  faith 
in  a  living  person  and  in  his  saving  power.  When 
separated,  certain  statements  lean  in  the  direction  of 
acceptance  of  ecclesiastical  or  theological  formulas, 
instead  of  trustful  surrender  to  the  living  Christ. 

Through  the  word  faith  is  begotten  in  the  heart. 
So  belief  cometh  of  hearing,  and  hearing  by  the  word 
of  Christ  (Romans  10:17).  The  gospel  is  the  power 
of  God  unto  salvation.  Where  the  word  is  preached, 
the  Spirit  works  in  men  and  awakens  the  response  of 
faith. 

Paul’s  conception  of  the  Church  is  closely  related 
to  his  doctrine  of  the  Christ.  The  Church  is  primarily 
an  organism,  not  an  institution,  composed  of  living 
persons,  the  community  of  believers.  It  is  the  body 
of  Christ,  through  which  his  spiritual  energies  and  his 
saving  powers  flow  into  the  members  (I  Corinthians 
12:12-31).  It  is  the  agency  through  which  every 
man  may  be  presented  perfect  in  Christ  (Colossians 
1:28).  Through  its  ministry  all  the  saints  are  to 
attain  ^‘unto  a  fullgrown  man,  unto  the  measure  of 
the  stature  of  the  fulness  of  Christ”  (Ephesians 
4:12,  13). 

The  Church  in  its  organic  form  is  the  bearer  of 
salvation,  the  sacrament  of  sacraments.  In  view  of  his 
idea  of  the  Church  Paul  might  have  been  prepared  to 
say:  ^^Extra  ecclesiam  nulla  salus.”  Thoroughly 

evangelical  and  an  apostle  of  Christian  freedom  as  he 
was,  later  Catholicism  might  well  take  comfort,  and 
find  proof  for  its  doctrine  of  the  Church,  in  the  writ¬ 
ings  of  Paul. 


^*See  also,  I  Cor.  15:1-7. 


no 


CHRISTIAN  WAYS  OF  SALVATION 


It  was  but  a  step  from  the  mystical  and  sacramental 
idea  of  the  Church  to  the  mystical  and  sacramental 
ordinances.  Baptism  and  the  Lord’s  Supper  were 
primitive  Christian  rites  which  Paul  also  received  in 
addition  to  the  doctrines  of  Jesus’  death,  burial,  and 
resurrection.^^  Originally  they  were  signs  of  member¬ 
ship  in  the  messianic  community  and  seals  of  the 
blessings  of  salvation.  Paul  clearly  resolves  them  into 
channels  of  grace,  instruments  through  which  the  sav¬ 
ing  power  of  Christ  works  in  the  recipients. 

The  baptized  were  buried  with  him,  and  raised  with 
him  into  newness  of  life;  united  with  him  in  the  like¬ 
ness  of  his  death,  they  were  also  united  with  him  in 
the  likeness  of  his  resurrection  (Romans  6:3;  Colos- 
sians  2:12).  Baptism  is  clearly  considered  a  miracle 
and  a  mystery,  by  virtue  of  which  the  one  who  is 
baptized  becomes  a  different  person  from  what  he  was 
before  his  baptism. 

The  Lord’s  Supper  is  more  than  a  memorial  and  a 
feast  of  love;  it  is  a  symbol  of  fellowship  with  the  liv¬ 
ing  Christ  and  with  the  believing  Christian.  In  par¬ 
taking  of  bread  and  wine  one  is  nurtured  by  spiritual 
food  and  drink,  which  impart  to  the  communicant  the 
power  of  salvation  (I  Corinthians  11:23-33;  10:16 
sq.).  Wernle  says:  “It  is  strange  that  the  hero  of  the 
word  should  also  become  the  creator  of  the  sacrament, 
in  this  respect  also  a  forerunner  of  Catholicism.” 

Paul  in  more  than  one  way  became  the  vessel  of 

“There  are  recent  scholars  who  claim  that  the  sacramental  idea 
was  found  before  Paul  in  the  earliest  Christian  communities,  and 
even  anterior  to  Christianity  itself.  So  Bousset  and  Heitmiiller. 
In  the  first  volume  of  “The  Beginnings  of  Christianity,”  Eng.  trans., 
p.  273,  Wernle  traced  the  origin  of  the  sacraments  as  means  of 
grace  to  Paul.  In  the  second  volume  he  gives  up  this  view  and 
accepts  the  position  of  Bousset  and  Heitmiiller.  Vol.  11,  Eng. 
trans.,  p.  128. 


THE  WAYS  OF  THE  APOSTLES 


111 


God  to  bear  the  gospel  to  the  Gentiles.  He  made  the 
sole  condition  of  salvation  God’s  grace  appropriated 
by  man’s  faith.  Thus  he  had  a  message  equally  ap¬ 
plicable  to  all  men ;  freed  from  Jewish  nationalism  and 
legalism,  and  from  Greek  intellectualism  and  moralism. 
He  boldly  declared  Christianity  a  new  religion,  differ¬ 
ent  in  principle  from  Judaism  and  paganism,  and  yet 
the  fulfilment  of  the  best  elements,  hopes,  and  aspira¬ 
tions  of  both. 

Cast  in  messianic  and  apocalyptic  forms,  the  gospel 
would  not  have  been  understood  by  the  Greeks,  and 
would  have  had  a  scant  hearing  among  Gentiles. 
Paul’s  interpretation  of  salvation  as  the  transforma¬ 
tion  of  man’s  sinful  nature  through  the  power  of  the 
divine  Spirit  proceeding  from  God  in  human  form; 
his  doctrine  of  the  pre-existent  Christ  become  man; 
the  cosmological,  historical,  and  soteriological  setting 
which  he  gave  Jesus  as  the  “man”  from  “heaven”  and 
the  “second  Adam,”  the  head  of  a  new  race;  his  con¬ 
ception  of  the  Church  and  the  sacraments  as  the 
bearers  and  channels  of  mysterious  divine  powers  for 
man’s  redemption, — all  these  ideas  were  original  con¬ 
tributions  of  the  Apostle  to  the  Gentiles,  which  super¬ 
seded  the  Jewish  Christian  messianism,  made  the  gos¬ 
pel  appeal  to  the  imagination  of  Greek  and  Homan, 
and  yet  prepared  the  way  for  developments  in  Catholi¬ 
cism  which  were  foreign  to  the  spirit  and  purpose  of 
Paul. 


IV 

We  cannot  close  this  study  of  the  apostolic  ways  of 
salvation  without  reference  to  the  Fourth  Gospel.^® 

^*Spe  Pfleiderer,  “Ausbreitung  des  Christenthums;”  also  Bartlett 
and  Carlyle,  “Christianity  in  History,”  pp,  73-76. 


112 


CHRISTIAN  WAYS  OF  SALVATION 


Here  the  death  of  Christ  is  no  longer  the  only  ground 
of  redemption,  the  only  way  of  reconciliation  between 
God  and  man,  as  it  is  in  PauFs  writings.  The  primary 
emphasis  is  put  on  the  incarnation  of  the  Logos, 
through  which  the  union  between  God  and  man  is 
efPected.  The  Logos  in  the  flesh  is  evidence  of  the 
possible  reconciliation  of  all  contradictions  in  human 
life.  For  in  the  light  of  it  there  must  be  essential 
kinship  between  the  finite  and  the  infinite,  the  tem¬ 
poral  and  the  eternal,  the  human  and  the  divine.  This 
kinship  is  made  manifest  in  the  divine-human  life  of 
Jesus.  The  Jewish  Christians  looked  forward  to  the 
Kingdom  of  God ;  this  hope  is  rarely  mentioned  in  the 
writings  of  John:  they  speak  of  “eternal  life,’’  which 
men  have  here  and  now  by  faith  in  Christ.  Out  of  the 
religion  of  hope  and  of  the  future,  John  made  a  religion 
of  realization  and  of  the  present.  The  benefits  of  sal¬ 
vation  are  a  blessed  possession.^^ 

The  basal  thought  of  John  may  be  put  in  modern 
form  as  follows:  In  his  picture  of  Christ  he  tries  to 
show  that  God  is  not  far  from  man,  but  abides  in  him, 
reveals  himself  in  and  through  him ;  and  that,  in  spite 
of  his  earthly  limitations,  he  is  capable  of  being  the 
bearer  of  God’s  spirit  and  power.  In  short,  it  is  the 
idea  of  the  union  of  the  divine  and  the  human  in  one 

” Professor  Lake,  speaking  of  the  Gospel  of  John,  says:  “Jesus 
appears  as  the  supernatural  Lord  (though  this  word  is  not  charac¬ 
teristic  of  the  Gospel)  who  reveals  the  Father  to  men.  He  offers 
them  salvation  by  regeneration  in  baptism,  and  by  eating  his 
flesh  and  blood  in  the  Eucharist.  They  become  supernaturally  the 
children  of  God.  This  is  the  teaching  of  the  Hellenised  Church, 
not  of  the  historic  Jesus.  But  running  through  the  Gospel  there 
is  also  another  line  of  thought  which  regards  salvation  as  due  to 
knowledge  rather  than  sacraments.  What  is  the  relation  to  each 
other  of  these  two  ways  of  regarding  salvation?  The  problem  has 
scarcely  been  formulated  by  the  students  of  the  Fourth  Gospel, 
much  less  adequately  discussed. — “Landmarks  in  the  History  of 
Early  Christianity,”  p.  95. 


THE  WAYS  OF  THE  APOSTLES  113 

person,  through  ethical  self-surrender  of  man  to  God, 
that  is  cardinal  and  new  in  Christianity. 

The  ultimate  nature  of  God  is  love;  which  is  re¬ 
vealed  in  the  life  of  Jesus.  Grace  and  truth  came 
through  Jesus  Christ,  who  is  the  only  begotten  son  in 
the  bosom  of  the  Father.  If  God  is  love,  then  life,  ^ 
light,  truth,  knowledge,  and  liberty  are  different  phases 
of  his  love.  These  attributes  of  God  may  be  appro¬ 
priated  by  the  children  of  God,  by  those  who  receive 
him  in  faith.  This  faith  is  always  ethically  de¬ 
termined  :  it  is  variously  expressed  as  believing  in  him, 
knowing  him,  loving  him,  and  doing  his  command¬ 
ments.  The  saving  truth  must  be  ‘^done,^’  and  needs 
to  be  loved  before  it  can  be  known  and  become  life 
eternal  in  men.  The  Word  became  flesh  that  men 
might  see,  and  behold,  and  handle  the  Word  of  life; 
and  thus  have  fellowship  with  the  Father  and  with  his 
Son  Jesus  Christ.  This  fellowship  of  faith  and  love  is 
eternal  life. 

John  also  magnifies  the  doctrine  of  the  Spirit,  who 
comes  into  the  disciples  and  abides  in  them,  as  the 
Life  of  their  life,  even  more  intimately  than  Jesus  did 
when  he  was  with  them.^®  This  conception  of  the 
Spirit,  which  completes  a  tendency  already  marked  in 
PauFs  thought,  largely  replaces  the  older  conception 
of  the  Second  Advent  as  an  event  in  the  near  future. 
^^Communion  with  Christ  is  already  a  matter  of  present 
experience  and  new  spiritual  dynamic.’’  The  Gospel 
and  the  Epistles  are  not  without  their  advent  hopes, 
some  of  them  harking  back  to  the  early  eschatology; 
yet  these  are  in  the  background  of  his  thought  and  are 
superseded  by  his  doctrine  of  eternal  life. 

'“John  7:39;  14:26;  16:7  sq. 

“  Bartlett  and  Carlyle,  ‘'Christianity  in  History,”  pp.  75,  76, 


114 


CHRISTIAN  WAYS  OF  SALVATION 


When  we  hear  Jesus  speak  of  the  Father’s  house, — 
whither  he  goes  to  prepare  a  place  for  us,  and  whence 
he  will  come  to  receive  us  unto  himself,  that  where 
he  is,  there  we  may  be  also  (John  14-:l-3), — hopes  are 
awakened  in  us  wholly  different  from  those  stirred  up 
by  Peter’s  address  in  the  Temple  when  he  says:  ‘^Re¬ 
pent  ye  therefore,  and  turn  again,  that  your  sins  may 
be  blotted  out,  that  so  there  may  come  seasons  of  re¬ 
freshing  from  the  presence  of  the  Lord  and  that  he 
may  send  the  Christ  who  hath  been  appointed  for  you, 
even  Jesus;  whom  the  heaven  must  receive  until  the 
times  of  restoration  of  all  things”  (Acts  3:19-21). 
In  the  earlier  message  the  essence  of  the  gospel  is  the 
Messiah  and  the  Kingdom  of  God;  in  the  later,  the 
Logos  and  eternal  life.  The  Messiah  will  come  and 
establish  the  Kingdom;  the  Logos  is  here,  and  ^‘he  that 
hath  the  Son  hath  life”  (I  John  5:12). 

Addendum. — While  I  was  reading  the  galley-proof 
of  this  chapter,  I  came  upon  a  valuable  statement  on 
Paul’s  message  by  Professor  Benjamin  W.  Bacon,  in 
the  Alumni  Lecture  entitled,  ‘^The  Teaching  Ministry 
for  To-morrow,”  published  in  the  Yale  Divinity  News, 
November,  1922,  page  5.  Coming  as  it  does  from  one 
of  America’s  foremost  New  Testament  scholars,  I  can¬ 
not  refrain  from  quoting  it.  He  says,  with  an  authority 
which  I  do  not  profess  to  have,  what  I  should  like  to 
say  on  Paul’s  view  of  salvation: 

^^The  historical  critic  finds  difficulty  with  the  JiberaT 
Christ.  As  matter  of  plain  fact  Christianity  did  not 
arise  out  of  the  admiration  felt  either  by  Paul  or  the 
Galilean  disciples  for  Jesus  as  a  Teacher.  Indeed  they 
scarcely  mention  the  fact  that  He  was  a  teacher,  still 
less  consider  that  He  presented  a  new  system  of  ethics. 
Christianity  arose  out  of  what  men  believed  to  be  the 


THE  WAYS  OF  THE  APOSTLES 


115 


act  of  God,  not  the  teaching  of  any  man,  however 
great.  Whether  it  were  Paul,  or  those  who  were  apos¬ 
tles  before  him,  the  common  message  was  simply  The 
word  of  the  cross.’  If  some  slurred  this,  then  the 
resurrection.  In  either  case  the  act  of  God.  God 
meant  something  to  humanity  by  what  happened  in 
Jerusalem  in  the  year  30.  The  apostles  were  witnesses 
of  something  that  God  had  done,  things  that  they  had 
seen  and  heard.  That  was  their  ^gospel.’  Of  course  ^ 
they  had  to  attach  a  significance  to  these  experiences, 
and  from  the  nature  of  the  case  they  sought  it  in 
Scripture.  That  was  their  theology.  The  first  clause 
of  their  primitive  creed  was  that  ^Christ  died  for  our 
sins  according  to  the  Scriptures.’  The  second  (also 
According  to  the  Scriptures’)  was  that  God  had  raised 
Flim  from  the  dead,  to  bring  redemption  to  the  world. 
That  is  not  ethics.  That  is  religion.  A  religion  grows 
out  of  what  men  think  God  does.  The  thought  may 
be  wrong  or  right,  or  partly  one,  partly  the  other;  but 
without  it  there  is  no  religion.  With  it  there  is  sure 
to  be,  unless  the  action  falls  altogether  outside  human 
interest.  Ethics  is  a  theory  of  human  conduct.  You 
may  give  it  dynamic  by  incorporating  the  sanctions  of 
religion.  But  of  itself  ethics  remains  a  mere  philos¬ 
ophy  of  conduct,  a  sociological  theory  of  what  men 
ought  to  do.  Christianity  is,  and  always  has  been,  a 
religion.  It  adapted  to  its  needs  a  very  noble  system 
of  ethics,  but  it  grew  out  of  certain  great  occurrences 
interpreted  in  a  certain  way  as  acts  of  God.  The  his¬ 
torical  critic  knows  this,  and  therefore  finds  the  mere 
ethical  Teacher,  the  liberal  Christ’  a  cause  utterly  in¬ 
adequate  to  account  for  the  rise  of  the  religion.” 


CHAPTER  V 


THE  ANCIENT  CATHOLIC  WAY 

The  ancient  Catholic  Church  gradually  emerged  out 
of  apostolic  Christianity  in  the  second  century.  Like 
Jesus  and  Paul  and  John  and  the  Jewish  Christians, 
Catholicism  conceived  Christianity  as  a  way  of  salva¬ 
tion.  All  of  them  agreed  that  Jesus  was  Savior,  and 
his  gospel  a  message  of  redemption.  Men  were  in 
one  way  or  another  to  be  delivered  from  an  evil  world. 
On  methods  of  salvation  they  differed,  but  with  one 
accord  they  believed  that  God  was  the  source  of  salva¬ 
tion  and  Jesus  the  mediator  of  it. 

I 

One  cannot  put  one’s  finger  upon  the  day  or  the 
year  of  the  origin  of  the  Catholic  Church.  It  came  by 
process  rather  than  by  fiat.  There  were  doubtless 
Catholic  elements  and  tendencies  in  the  apostolic 
period,^  yet  the  vitalizing  and  structural  principle  of 
Catholicism  is  not  at  that  stage  to  be  found.  Professor 
Harnack,  speaking  of  the  time  when  primitive  Chris¬ 
tianity  became  ancient  Catholicism,  says: 

The  point  seems  to  me  to  occur  when  the  apostles, 
prophets,  and  charismatic  lay-teachers  ceased,  and  their 
place  was  taken  by  the  norm  of  apostolic  doctrine  and  sub¬ 
jection  to  the  authority  of  the  apostolic  episcopal  office. 

^Harnack,  “Grundriss  der  Dogmengeschichte/’  p.  31,  note  4. 

116 


THE  ANCIENT  CATHOLIC  WAY  117 

For  the  Catholic  Church  is  the  church  of  apostolic  tradition 
fixed  as  law. 

Christianity  began  with  Jesus  and  the  brotherhood 
of  believers.  These  were  the  original  agencies  of  salva¬ 
tion.  Gradually  doctrines  about  him  were  put  in  place 
of  Jesus, — a  tendency  which  began  with  Paul.  An 
institution  with  priests  and  officials  came  in  place  of 
the  brotherhood  of  believers.  The  gospel  became  a 
dogma,  and  the  brotherhood  a  sacramental  organiza¬ 
tion.  The  fellowship  of  the  saved  became  an  institu¬ 
tion  of  salvation  with  a  domineering  hierarchy  and  a 
submissive  laity;  faith  in  a  personal  Christ  became 
assent  to  definitions  of  Christ;  the  spirit  of  holiness 
and  love  became  ecclesiastical  law  and  custom;  the 
love  feast  became  a  mysterious  sacrament;  the  ad¬ 
monition  of  brethren  became  the  discipline  of  priests; 
heartfelt  sorrow  for  sin  became  a  dreary  round  of 
penitential  works;  fervent  expectation  of  the  coming 
Lord  became  hope  of  immortality;  servile  obedience 
took  the  place  of  filial  service, — an  astounding  trans¬ 
formation,  with  immeasurable  significance  for  the 
future  of  Christianity  and  of  humanity.  The  religion 
of  authority  superseded  the  religion  of  the  Spirit.  The 
community  with  gospel  and  life  became  a  church  of 
doctrine  and  law. 

The  Catholic  Church,  in  its  finished  form  in  the 
fourth  century,  was  a  complex  of  gospel,  mystery, 
philosophy,  law,  and  superstition, — the  great  com¬ 
promise  of  history.  It  was  a  neutral  Christianity, 
blending  Jewish,  Petrine,  Pauline,  and  Johannine  ele¬ 
ments  in  such  a  way  as  to  preserve  what  was  common 
to  all,  and  yet  to  lose  what  was  distinctive  of  each. 
Pagan  elements  from  Egypt,  Babylon,  Persia,  Greece, 
and  Rome  were  fused  with  the  gospel  of  Jesus  and  the 


118 


CHRISTIAN  WAYS  OF  SALVATION 


brotherhood  of  believers,  and  the  outcome  was  an  in¬ 
stitution  of  dogmas,  mysteries,  priests,  monks,  and 
laymen.  The  gospel  was  necessarily  modified  when 
preached  and  taught  with  the  aid  of  Greek  rhetoric  and 
in  terms  of  Greek  philosophy.  Precepts  of  Christian 
conduct  were  taken  from  Greek  ethics.  Jewish  ordi¬ 
nances  and  Roman  law  were  put  under  tribute  for 
church  government,  and  oriental  mysteries  furnished 
new  meaning  to  Christian  sacraments.  Pagan  super¬ 
stitions  became  current  Christian  customs;  saints, 
relics,  holy  water,  and  vestments  were  given  divine 
sanction. 

The  original  freedom  of  the  saints  and  the  faith 
working  in  love  were  a  thing  of  the  past.  Christians 
were  subjects  of  a  divine  institution  which  professed 
to  provide  means  of  salvation  through  authorized  per¬ 
sons,  doctrines,  and  rules  of  life.  Yet,  while  Chris¬ 
tianity  was  Hellenized  and  Romanized,  it  was  sufii- 
ciently  powerful  to  retain  its  controlling  and  formative 
place,  and  its  distinctive  character  and  supremacy  in 
the  ancient  world.  Notwithstanding  its  impedimenta 
of  dogmas  and  ordinances,  it  continued  to  save  and 
sanctify,  to  some  extent  and  in  its  own  way,  the  men 
and  nations  of  that  time. 

II 

The  ancient  Catholic  way  of  salvation  was  a  joint 
product  of  Christian  tradition,  and  Greek,  Roman,  and 
oriental  ideas  and  institutions.  Greek  influence,  how¬ 
ever,  was  most  powerful  in  the  formative  period  of  the 
second  century.  We  shall  consider,  accordingly,  the 
stages  in  the  development  of  the  apostolic  and  post- 
apostolic  conception  of  salvation,  and  the  pre-Christian 
Greek  views  of  redemption.  In  the  union  of  these  two 


THE  ANCIENT  CATHOLIC  WAY  119 

tendencies  must  be  found  the  explanation  of  the 
Catholic  theory  of  salvation  in  the  fourth  century. 

The  Gentile  Christians  developed  a  view  of  salvation 
differing  from  that  of  the  Jewish  Christians  and  from 
that  of  Paul  and  John.  They  denied  the  necessity  of 
the  ceremonial  law, — circumcision,  for  example, — yet 
they  considered  the  gospel  as  a  new  law  made  known 
by  Christ.  Through  its  observance  men  were  to  make 
themselves  worthy  of  salvation;  which  was  a  reward 
of  merit  instead  of  a  gift  of  grace.  They  were  in  ac¬ 
cord  with  Paul,  in  his  conception  of  the  universal  scope 
of  ChrisPs  saving  work,  in  his  monotheism,  in  his  doc¬ 
trine  of  an  incarnate  heavenly  being — though  not  in 
its  original  sense — and  in  the  hope  of  eternal  life.  The 
words  of  Paul  constantly  recur  in  the  post-apostolic 
writings,  but  in  a  different  combination  and  with  a 
different  meaning.  His  view  of  salvation  is  nowhere 
to  be  found.  The  formula,  ^Vhere  there  is  forgiveness 
of  sin,  there  are  life  and  salvation,”  was  not  understood 
by  the  Greek  and  Roman  Christians,  because  they  did 
not  share  his  experience  of  redemption.  The  assurance 
that  Jesus  receives  sinners  and  God  freely  forgives 
merely  of  grace,  was  wholly  obscured.  Forgiveness 
was  limited  to  sins  committed  before  baptism,  and 
even  then  it  was  offered  on  the  ground  that  men  sinned 
through  ignorance.  Now  that  they  repented  in  the 
light  of  the  new  knowledge  which  they  received  from 
Christ,  God  esteemed  them  worthy  of  forgiveness.- 
After  baptism  they  were  not  under  grace  but  under 
law,  and  whatever  sins  were  committed  then  must  be 
atoned  for  by  penitential  works.'^  This  takes  the  heart 
out  of  Paul’s  gospel  of  free  grace. 

^Harnack,  “History  of  Dogma,”  Eng.  trans.  L,  p.  170,  note  2. 

““In  Hernias,  however,  and  in  the  second  Epistle  of  Clement,  the 


120 


CHRISTIAN  WAYS  OF  SALVATION 


Thus  in  the  Gentile  churches  a  species  of  moralism, 
not  unlike  that  in  Mosaism  or  in  Greek  ethics,  pre¬ 
vailed  and  became  a  basal  element  in  ancient  Catholi¬ 
cism.  Jesus  is  Lord,  Lawgiver,  and  Judge;  and  with 
his  promises  he  encourages  obedience  to  the  law,  which 
will  be  rewarded  by  eternal  life. 

In  the  writings  of  John  there  is  a  vital  relation  be¬ 
tween  knowledge  and  eternal  life.  Where  there  is 
truth  and  knowledge,  there  is  eternal  life, — a  formula 
far  more  readily  understood  by  the  Greeks  than  the 
Pauline  formula  in  reference  to  forgiveness  and  salva¬ 
tion.  Illustrative  passages  may  be  chosen  at  random. 
“This  is  life  eternal,  that  they  should  know  thee  the 
only  true  God,  and  him  whom  thou  didst  send,  even 
Jesus  Christ’^  (John  17:3).  This  idea  becomes  more 
and  more  prominent  in  the  second  century.  In  the 
epistle  to  Diognetus,  XIII,  we  are  told,  that  “God  in 
the  beginning  planted  a  tree  of  knowledge  and  a  tree 
of  life  in  the  midst  of  Paradise,  and  showed  that  life 
is  through  knowledge.’^  In  the  eucharistic  prayer  of 
the  Didache,  IX,  X,  thanksgiving  is  made  “for  the  life 
and  knowledge  which  thou  didst  make  known  to  us 
through  Jesus  thy  child.’^  This  was  a  form  of  in- 
tellectualism  which  was  in  sympathy  with  the  Greek 
view  of  religion  and  life.  The  sum  of  the  gospel  was 
reduced  to  a  revelation  of  the  unknown  God  through 
Jesus  Christ  and  a  command  to  keep  the  new  law 
revealed  through  the  Son  of  God,  who  in  the  judgment 
will  dispense  rewards  and  punishment.  It  is  significant 
that  whenever  eternal  life  is  vitally  related  to  knowl¬ 
edge  of  truth,  the  hope  of  the  resurrection  of  the  body 

consciousness  of  being  under  grace,  even  after  baptism,  almost 
completely  disappears  behind  the  demand  to  fulfil  the  tasks  which 
baptism  imposes.” — Harnack,  “History  of  Dogma,”  Eng.  trans.,  I, 

p.  172. 


THE  ANCIENT  CATHOLIC  WAY 


121 


dies  out,  though  it  may  be  kept  in  creedal  formulas,  but 
as  a  part  of  another  circle  of  ideas.^ 

A  third  element  became  prominent  in  Gentile  Chris¬ 
tianity, — the  Pauline  idea  of  redemption  by  the  trans¬ 
formation  of  man’s  sinful  nature  through  the  spirit 
of  Christ.  This  was  not  only  readily  accepted  by  the 
Greeks,  but  modified  by  their  views  of  salvation. 
Ignatius  defines  salvation,  not  by  free  grace  or  ethical 
atonement,  but  by  hyperphysical  deliverance  from 
decay  and  death,  which  are  assumed  to  be  the  effect  of 
sin.  In  the  Acts  of  Thomas  salvation  is  regarded  as 
the  gift  of  grace  which  saves  by  transforming  human 
nature  by  the  impartation  of  the  divine  essence  of 
Jesus  as  life  or  food.^  Forgiveness  falls  into  the  back¬ 
ground,  while  the  idea  of  the  infusion  of  a  divine  sub¬ 
stance  through  sacramental  means  is  looked  upon  with 
favor.  The  Lord’s  Supper  is  the  ^apixamv  ddavaaias^ 
— the  charm  or  magic  of  immortality.  The  Deity 
himself  is  supposed  to  be  a  spiritual  substance  with 
which  men  may  be  filled  and  thus  imbued  with  eternal 
life — a  process  of  deification,  equivalent  to  im¬ 
mortality.  Here  is  clear  evidence  of  the  influence  of 
Greek  mysteries  upon  the  Catholic  conception  of 
salvation. 

The  Christian  communities  of  the  second  century 
were  in  a  transition  period,  passing  from  the  personal, 
experimental,  and  spiritual  Christianity  of  the  apostles 
to  the  institutional,  legalistic,  dogmatic,  and  sacra¬ 
mental  Christianity  of  Catholicism.  Practically  all 
the  cardinal  terms  and  phrases  are  modified  and  given 
new  values.  Faith  is  turned  into  assent  to  proposi¬ 
tions  about  God,  Jesus  Christ,  and  human  destiny: 

^Hamack,  “History  of  Dogma,”  Eng.  trans.,  I.  p.  170,  note  1. 

“Chapters  25-27,  49-52,  132,  157. 


122 


CHRISTIAN  WAYS  OF  SALVATION 


it  is  not  personal  surrender  to  the  living  Christ,  serving 
him  in  love.  The  principal  articles  of  the  prevailing 
Christianity  were:  (1)  belief  in  God  as  deaTrorrjs^ 
ruler,  and  in  the  Son  approved  by  prophecy,  and  in 
his  teachings  attested  by  the  apostles;  (2)  discipline 
according  to  the  standard  of  the  words  of  the  Lord; 
(3)  baptism;  (4)  the  common  offering  of  prayer, 
culminating  in  the  Lord’s  Supper;  (5)  the  sure  hope 
of  the  nearness  of  Christ’s  kingdom.®  ‘When  the 
apostolic  fathers  reflect  upon  faith,  they  mean  a  hold¬ 
ing  for  true  of  a  sum  of  holy  traditions  and  obedience 
to  them,  along  with  the  hope  that  their  consoling  con¬ 
tent  will  yet  be  revealed.” 

The  God  of  Christ,  who  is  ever  present  and  accessible 
to  all;  who  watches  with  a  Father’s  love  over  his  chil¬ 
dren  and  provides  for  them;  who  deeply  grieves  for 
the  sins  of  men  and  patiently  awaits  the  prodigal’s 
return,  ready  to  receive  him  just  as  he  is;  who  is  a 
God  of  healing  and  comfort,  turning  all  things  to  our 
good, — this  Christlike  God  is  eclipsed  by  the  Creator 
and  Ruler  of  the  universe,  the  King  and  Judge,  who 
has  published  a  new  law  through  his  Son,  and  will 
dispense  judgment  according  to  man’s  merits:  God 
conceived  after  the  analogy  of  an  oriental  monarch 
rather  than  in  terms  of  Jesus  Christ.  The  other  con¬ 
ception  of  God,  which  is  traceable  in  the  New  Testa¬ 
ment,  is  easily  laid  hold  of  and  transformed  by  the 
Greek, — God  as  a  Spiritual  substance  that  enters  men 
and  dwells  in  them:  the  idea  of  God  upon  which  the 
Catholic  sacraments  are  based.  Here  he  is  conceived 
of  after  the  analogy  of  the  absolute  being  of  Greek 
philosophy.  The  transformation  of  the  conception  of 

®  Harnack,  “History  of  Dogma,”  Eng.  trans.  I.  p.  163-164. 

Idem,  p.  172. 


THE  ANCIENT  CATHOLIC  WAY 


123 


God  must  necessarily  result  in  a  new  way  of  salvation ; 
for  it  affects  the  notions  of  the  motive,  the  method,  the 
blessings,  and  the  ultimate  outcome  of  the  whole 
process  of  redemption.®  The  new  law,  that  is  assumed 
to  be  the  substance  of  the  gospel,  is  turned  into  ascetic 
precepts  far  more  than  into  the  law  of  love ;  or  at  any 
rate  love  was  to  verify  itself  in  ascetic  practices. 

The  views  of  the  future  were  by  no  means  uniform, 
yet  those  which  prevailed  in  the  second  century  were 
widely  different  from  those  of  the  primitive  Christians. 
Some  still  looked  for  an  earthly  kingdom  to  be  set  up 
by  Christ  at  his  return;  others  expected  a  blessed  im¬ 
mortality  in  heaven.  These  two  tendencies,  often  in 
conflict,  run  parallel  for  centuries.  But  the  chiliasts, 
or  adventists,  lost  ground  under  the  influence  of  Greek 
thought.  The  expectation  of  a  kingdom  from  heaven 
was  forced  to  yield  to  the  hope  of  a  blissful  immortality 
in  heaven.  The  ardent  desire  for  the  reign  of  Christ 
upon  earth  gave  way  to  the  earnest  prayer  for  rest 
with  God  on  high.  A  scheme  of  last  things,  including 
heaven,  hell,  purgatory,  immortality,  the  beatific 
vision,  superseded  the  blessed  longing  for  the  Lord’s 
coming  and  the  glorious  millennium.  The  Greek  term, 

^  'That  conception  of  God  with  which  Greek  philosophy  ter¬ 
minated,  viz.,  the  Absolute,  the  Transcendant,  the  Indeterminable, 
governs  unquestioned  in  the  domain  of  Christian  thought  .  .  . 
This  metaphysical  conception  of  God  prevailed  in  Greek  theology 
till  the  Council  of  Chalcedon  closed  that  epoch  of  constructive 
work.  It  has  remained  to  this  day  in  spite  of  the  reversion  to 
the  New  Testament  which  marked  the  Reformation,  in  spite  of 
that  destruction  of  dogmatism  with  which  Kant  inaugurated  the 
modern  age;  and  still  it  confuses  the  issues  for  men  who  have 
traveled  far  from  the  condition  of  Greek  thought  .  .  .  Love  and 
holiness,  with  the  action  and  passion  arising  therefrom,  are  lacking 
to  the  Greek  idea  of  God,  and  this  defect  makes  that  idea  unsuited 
to  act  as  the  governing  category  of  Christian  soteriology.” — Hastings, 
"Encyclopedia  of  Religion  and  Ethics,”  XL  Art.  "Soteriology,”  Kil¬ 
patrick,  p.  701. 


124 


CHRISTIAN  WAYS  OF  SALVATION 


ddavaaia,  immortality,  is  made  the  equivalent  of 
d(f)dap(7la  ,  incorruption,  aiccvios,  eternal  life,  and 
they  are  often  used  interchangeably.  These  terms 
supplant  the  original  ^aaiXeLa  rov  6eov,  kingdom  of 
God,  which  is  identified  either  with  the  Catholic 
Church  or  with  immortality  in  the  heavenly  world. 
The  original  hope  of  a  millennium  passed  away,  and  in 
its  place  came  an  ecclesiasticism  that  promises  eternal 
life  in  heaven. 

These  elements  of  doctrine  and  law  have  not  yet 
become  fixed  dogmas  or  a  finished  institution.  Every¬ 
thing  is  in  process,  not  yet  crystallized  into  final  form. 
There  is,  however,  a  mental  mood,  a  religious  feeling, 
that  is  favorable  to  Catholic  Christianity.  Out  of  this 
mood  came  the  intellectual  conception  of  faith  as 
assent  to  doctrine  rather  than  as  trust  in  the  living 
God.  This  mood  encouraged  the  idea  that  a  man  by 
free  will  may  attain  communion  with  God  by  ascetic 
works.  This  mood  also  favored  the  aesthetic  form  of 
religion,  by  which  proof  of  communion  with  God  is  to 
be  found  in  mystic  feeling,  instead  of  in  an  ethical 
life.  Thus  arose  a  church  with  an  infallible  revela¬ 
tion  from  God,  who  can  make  his  presence  felt  through 
the  senses,  yet  urges  self-reliance  if  men  desire  abid¬ 
ing  fellowship  with  him. 


Ill 

As  in  the  Hebrew  world,  so  in  the  Greek,  there  was 
a  long  period  of  preparation  for  the  Catholic  concep¬ 
tion  of  salvation.  The  Jew  waited  for  the  kingdom  of 
God;  the  Greek  for  the  assurance  of  immortality,  de¬ 
liverance  from  decay  and  death,  and  a  blessed  life  in 
eternity.  For  this  end  new  religions  were  founded,  old 


THE  ANCIENT  CATHOLIC  WAY 


125 


religions  were  revived^  philosophies  were  consulted, 
and  oriental  mysteries  were  brought  to  the  Occident. 
The  aim  of  them  all  was  purification  from  sin,  deliver¬ 
ance  from  death,  and  exaltation  to  immortality.  The 
Greek  was  in  quest  of  a  trustworthy  divine  revelation, 
a  divine  law  of  life,  and  deliverance  from  the  limita¬ 
tions  of  his  present  life, — in  other  words,  he  sought  a 
way  of  redemption. 

The  Greek  idea  of  God  was  the  conclusion  of  a 
logical  process  of  thought, — the  absolute  being  or 
reality  behind  the  infinite  variety  of  phenomena,  de¬ 
scribed  in  abstract  terms  without  positive  or  personal 
attributes  of  finite  being,  an  all-pervading  spiritual 
substance.  He  was  nought  but  pure  being,  ^^unchange¬ 
able  and  above  all  incorruptible,  the  direct  opposite  of 
man^s  nature,  which  is  transitory,  changeable,  de¬ 
cadent,  and  mortal,  because  finite  and  material.’’  ^ 
Access  to  such  a  God  is  obtained  through  material 
channels  and  sacramental  ordinances,  rather  than  by 
way  of  intelligent  and  ethical  personal  fellowship. 
Such  access  develops  a  contemplative  and  passive  type 
of  piety,  with  a  strong  leaning  toward  the  ascetic  life. 

The  Greek  developed,  also,  a  distinctive  conception 
of  sin,  corresponding  to  the  idea  of  God.  Sin  was 
thought  of,  not  as  guilt  that  needs  to  be  atoned  and 
forgiven,  but  as  error  and  disease  that  need  to  be 
corrected  and  cured.  The  effect  of  man’s  sin  was  to 
separate  him  from  God,  the  source  of  knowledge  and 
life,  somewhat  as  the  branch  is  lopped  off  the  vine. 
Men,  therefore,  wither  and  die,  for  lack  of  the  vitality 
that  comes  from  God.  The  Greek  considered  death  the 

®  Bartlett  and  Carlyle,  ‘'Christianity  in  History,”  p,  146. 

The  Jew  thought  of  God  as  mighty  and  righteous  will  behind 
creation  and  human  history,  and  partly  revealed  through  both. 


126 


CHRISTIAN  WAYS  OF  SALVATION 


great  evil,  and  immortality  the  great  good,  and  was 
more  distressed  by  his  mortality  than  by  his  guilt.  He 
had  no  thought  of  a  redemption  through  a  kingdom  of 
God  upon  earth,  but  had  his  heart  fixed  on  eternity, 
where  alone  he  could  obtain  immortality. 

Mr.  G.  Lowes  Dickinson  in  his  Greek  View  of 
Life’’  incidentally  throws  an  illuminating  side-light 
upon  the  Greek  view  of  sin.  He  contends  that  the 
Greeks  never,  not  even  in  their  profoundest  philoso¬ 
phies  or  tragedies,  distinguished,  as  the  Christians  do, 
between  the  conception  of  sin  as  a  physical  contagion 
to  be  cured  by  external  rites  and  the  conception  of  it 
as  an  affection  of  the  conscience  which  only  “grace” 
can  expel.  The  stain  of  sin  “was  conceived  to  be  rather 
physical  than  moral,  analogous  to  disease  both  in  its 
character  and  in  the  methods  of  its  cure.  .  .  .  And  as 
was  the  evil,  so  was  the  remedy.  External  acts  and 
observances  might  cleanse  and  purge  away  what  was 
regarded  as  an  external  affection  of  the  soul.” 

The  Greeks  as  naturally  fitted  Jesus  and  his  gospel 
into  their  pre-Christian  conception  of  religion  and 
salvation  as  did  the  Jews  into  their  messianic  prophe¬ 
cies.  The  latter  saw  in  Jesus  the  Messiah  who  came 
to  fulfil  prophecy  and  establish  the  Messianic  king¬ 
dom;  the  former  saw  in  him  the  Logos  who  delivered 
men  from  death  by  imparting  life  eternal  through 
doctrine,  law,  and  mystery.' 

The  Greek  Christian  way  of  redemption  was  the 
result  of  a  blend  of  early  Christian  and  Greek  ideas. 
Consistently  with  the  view  that  the  result  of  sin  was 
separation  of  man  from  God,  the  source  of  light  and 
life,  redemption  was  possible  only  through  the  reunion 
of  God  and  man,  the  restoration  of  the  original  fellow- 


22,  23. 


THE  ANCIENT  CATHOLIC  WAY 


127 


ship  between  the  divine  and  the  human.  This  was 
effected  through  the  incarnation  of  the  Logos  in  Jesus. 
A  Greek  Father  once  said:  ‘The  idea  of  God  becoming 
man,  is  what  is  new  in  the  new,  nay,  is  the  only  new 
thing  under  the  sun.’^  In  the  Catechism  of  Cyril  (4, 
c.  9),  we  are  told,  “If  the  evavdpoiTrrjais,  the  God- 
man,  is  a  phantom,  then,  also,  is  salvation  a  phan¬ 
tasm.’’  For  man  can  be  delivered  from  sin  and  death 
only  when  he  is  brought  into  organic  union  with  God, — 
such  a  union  of  the  divine  and  the  human  natures  as 
we  have  in  Jesus.  The  substance  of  the  divine  life  is 
infused  into  human  nature;  man  is  deified  and  is 
endued  with  life  immortal.  This  is  the  mystery  of 
redemption  realized  in  Jesus,  in  whom  the  grace  and 
truth  of  God  are  made  manifest. 

In  the  writings  of  Paul  and  John  these  blessings  are 
personal  qualities,  and  spiritual  gifts  appropriated  by 
faith.  The  gospel,  in  its  appeal  to  reason  and  con¬ 
science,  begets  a  life  of  faith,  working  in  love.  In  the 
writings  of  the  Fathers  grace  is  turned  into  hyper¬ 
physical  substance,  conveyed  in  portions  through 
sacramental  channels,  and  truth  is  resolved  into  meta¬ 
physical  statements,  passing  all  understanding,  to  be 
received  with  implicit  faith  as  a  heavenly  mystery. 
Thus,  by  a  process  of  transformation,  salvation  by 
grace  through  faith  came  to  mean  the  deification  of 
man’s  mortal  nature  by  a  pharmacological  infusion  of 
the  substance  of  the  Logos,  incarnate  through  the 
mysteries  of  the  Church. 

How  could  the  blessing  of  redemption  be  appro¬ 
priated  by  the  individual?  The  believer  had  access  to 
God,  no  longer  through  Christ  in  the  Spirit,  but 
through  the  Church,  which  was  in  Christ’s  stead. 
Grace  and  truth,  once  held  in  solution  in  the  Christian 


128 


CHRISTIAN  WAYS  OF  SALVATION 


consciousness  and  communicated  by  word  and  life, 
were  precipitated  in  dogma,  law,  and  mystery  in  con¬ 
trol  of  the  priests.  Only  through  their  ministry  could 
men  become  partakers  of  salvation;  for  the  priests 
were  the  divinely  authorized  guardians  of  truth,  the 
administrators  of  discipline,  and  the  dispensers  of 
grace.  The  original  democratic  theocracy  of  believers 
was  transformed  into  an  aristocracy  of  bishops;  the 
brotherhood  of  saints  became  an  institution  with  clergy 
and  laity;  the  religion  of  the  Spirit  became  a  religion 
of  authority. 


IV 

In  three  ways  men  were  to  appropriate  salvation, — 
through  the  intellect,  the  will,  and  the  feelings;  in 
other  words,  through  dogma,  morals,  and  mysteries, — 
these  three,  but  the  greatest  of  these  is  the  mysteries, 

1.  At  first  the  gospel  was  proclaimed  as  good  news 
which  men  believed;  and  their  faith  worked  in  love, — 
a  religious  and  ethical  appropriation  of  salvation.  But 
later  the  gospel  was  resolved  into  a  body  of  doctrine 
about  God,  Christ,  and  man,  which  was  accepted  upon 
the  authority  of  the  Church.^^  Doctrine  was  held 

“  Speaking  of  the  pre-Christian  Greek,  of  the  philosophers  from 
Socrates  to  Plotinus,  and  the  way  of  deliverance  from  the  transitory 
world,  Pfleiderer  in  his  “Philosophy  and  Development  of  Religion” 
(Eng.  trans.,  I.  p.  240-1)  says:  “Redemption  from  it  and  union  with 
the  world  beyond — the  world  of  purely  spiritual  and  divine  life — had 
become  the  goal  of  man’s  longing,  which  he  sought  to  approach  by 
all  the  ways  available  to  him, — theoretically,  through  the  abstraction 
of  thinking;  practically,  through  the  desensualizing  of  the  will;  and 
mystically,  through  ecstasy  of  feeling.” 

““The  greatness  of  the  earliest  form  of  Christianity  was  in  two 
realities — Jesus  and  the  community  which  attached  itself  to  Him. 
.  .  .  But  in  the  Pauline  churches  the  place  of  the  person  of  Jesus 
is  occupied  by  statements  concerning  the  Son  of  God,  the  Cross 
and  the  Resurrection,  which  are  accepted  in  faith.  Where  Jesus 
stood  before,  there  now  stands  the  dogma  of  Christ.  The  social 


THE  ANCIENT  CATHOLIC  WAY 


129 


apart  from  life, — the  besetting  sin  of  orthodoxy.  Faith 
ceased  to  be  trust  in  a  living  God  and  became  assent 
to  propositions.  The  creed  was  not  the  fruit  of  per¬ 
sonal  experience  and  the  product  of  conduct:  it  was  a 
divinely  revealed  body  of  truth  entrusted  to  the  central 
church  at  Rome  for  safe-keeping  and  promulgation. 
‘‘The  tradition  is  derived  from  the  apostles  of  the 
exceeding  great  and  ancient  and  universally  known 
church  founded  and  organized  at  Rome  by  the  two 
most  glorious  apostles — Peter  and  Paul  ...  for  it  is 
a  necessary  thing  that  every  church  should  agree  with 
this  church  on  account  of  its  preeminent  authority.” 
Human  ideas  about  God’s  nature  were  put  in  place  of 
God’s  acts  in  history,  and  acceptance  of  these  ideas 
was  enforced  by  legal  coercion.  Tertullian  exclaimed: 
“I  have  beheved  what  I  was  bound  to  believe.”  The 
disastrous  mistake  was  made  of  confusing  theology  and 
religion,  of  resolving  faith  in  a  person  into  formal 
assent  to  a  creed.  Where  Jesus  once  stood,  there 
stands  the  dogma  of  Christ ;  and  where  was  the  fellow¬ 
ship  of  brethren,  there  came  the  sacramental  mystery. 
The  prominence  given  to  dogma  and  sacrament,  in¬ 
stead  of  to  the  historical  life  of  Jesus  and  the  brother¬ 
hood  of  believers,  was  the  beginning  of  Catholic 
Christianity. 

2.  It  was  never  forgotten  that  the  gospel  was  law 

element  finds  its  expression  in  the  Sacraments,  in  which  it  is  be¬ 
lieved  the  present  activity  of  Jesus  is  experienced.  Dogmas  and 
Sacraments  therefore  have  ousted  Jesus  and  the  community.^’ — 
Wernle,  “Beginnings  of  Christianity,”  Eng,  trans,,  I,  pp,  344,  345. 

^Hrenaeus,  “Adv,  Haer,”  III.  3,  2;  IV.  33,  8. 

From  the  beginning  there  is  a  difference  of  emphasis  in  Paul 
and  Jesus.  Jesus  gives  prominence  to  the  moral  claim,  to  doing 
God’s  will.  The  danger  was  legalism.  Paul  laid  stress  primarily 
on  grace  and  atonement  and  man’s  faith.  Here  there  was  danger 
of  laxness  of  morals  and  of  neglecting  the  ethical  appeal.  Both 
extremes  can  be  avoided  only  where  men  live  as  children  of  God 


130 


CHRISTIAN  WAYS  OF  SALVATION 


as  well  as  knowledge ;  that  Christianity  was  conduct  as 
well  as  creed.  But  in  apostolic  times  obedience  was 
the  spontaneous  product  of  faith :  the  law  was  fulfilled 
in  love.  Conduct  was  the  fruit  of  salvation.  In  the 
Catholic  stage  the  precepts  of  the  gospel  were  turned 
into  laws  enforced  upon  the  members  of  the  Church 
without  vital  relation  to  faith.  Once  Christian 
morality  was  the  spontaneous  result  of  salvation ;  now 
it  is  a  condition  and  a  means  of  salvation.  ‘Tor  God 
has  given  us  a  law  and  holy  commandments;  and 
every  one  who  keeps  these  can  be  saved.’^  This  is 
the  essence  of  moralism.  Both  the  motive  and  the 
content  of  Christian  living  are  changed.  Filial 
obedience  becomes  servile  submission.  Sons  work  for 
love,  but  servants  for  wages. 

The  early  Christians  renounced  the  world,  and  lived 
sober,  righteous,  and  godly  lives;  either  because  they 
expected  the  speedy  end  of  the  present  order  and  the 
advent  of  a  heavenly  kingdom,  or  because  as  sons  of 
God  they  strove  to  realize  the  perfection  of  the  Father 
in  heaven  exemplified  in  the  life  of  Jesus.  They  set 
their  affections  on  things  above  and  lived  the  eternal 
life  in  time. 

On  Greek  soil,  where  the  messianic  hope  played  a 
negligible  part  as  a  motive,  renunciation  of  the  world 
was  rooted  in  pagan  dualism.  The  contrast  was  not 
between  the  present  and  the  future,  but  between  the 
material  and  the  spiritual.  Matter  is  essentially  evil, 
and  can  never  be  reconciled  with  spirit.  Man  is  by 
nature  carnal,  but  has  in  his  soul  a  celestial  spark, 
which  seeks  to  be  free  from  the  fetters  of  the  flesh  and 


in  the  love  of  God.  See  Wernle,  ^‘Beginnings  of  Christianity/’  Eng. 
trans.,,  I.  p.  349. 

Theophilus,  “Ad  Autolycum,”  II.  p.  27. 


THE  ANCIENT  CATHOLIC  WAY 


131 


the  bondage  of  the  world.  The  supreme  moral  motive 
constrains  men  to  escape  contact  with  matter  and  to 
mortify  the  flesh.  This  is  at  least  one  of  the  means 
of  salvation.  It  ends,  in  its  negative  form,  in  the  ascetic 
life, — the  renunciation  of  sex,  food,  and  property, — 
and  in  its  positive  form,  in  prayer,  almsgiving,  and 
contemplative  expectation  of  the  ecstatic  vision  of 
God.  The  advent  saint,  with  his  heroic  self-denial  and 
his  holy  indifference  to  the  world,  became  the  Catholic 
monk,  with  his  contempt  for  the  world  and  his  absorp¬ 
tion  in  God.  Renunciation  of  the  world  by  escaping 
from  the  tyranny  of  matter  and  sense  is  the  only  ideal 
of  life  and  of  perfection  that  is  left. 

3.  As  viewed  by  the  Greek,  redemption  could  be 
obtained  not  alone  by  knowledge,  i,e.,  dogmas,  nor  by 
deeds,  i.e.,  morals.  These  had  largely  preparatory 
value.  If  salvation  is  personal  deification  by  a  hyper¬ 
physical  infusion  of  the  substance  of  deity,  something 
more  palpable  is  required  than  doctrine  and  precept, 
stimulating  intellect  and  will.  ^Without  mysteries  a 
religion  even  of  inwardness  and  goodness  was  then 
unthinkable.  Men  wished,  yes,  had  to  experience  the 
Deity  in  sensuous  forms.^^  Such  means  were  in  use 
in  the  oriental  mysteries  and  were  appropriated  by 

Weinel,  “Die  urchristliche  und  die  heutige  Mission,”  p.  49. 

”“The  important  fact  is  that  the  mystical  and  ‘enthusiastic’  ex¬ 
planation  of  the  world  was  never  without  its  apostles  in  Greece.” 
Gilbert  Murray,  “Literature  of  Ancient  Greece,”  p.  68.  Even 
Plato  allows  room  for  it  in  a  passage  in  his  Phaedrus,  244 
(Jowett’s  translation) :  “There  is  a  madness  which  is  the  special 
gift  of  heaven,  and  the  source  of  the  chiefest  blessing  among  men. 
For  prophecy  is  a  madness,  and  the  prophetess  at  Delphi  and  the 
priestesses  at  Dodona,  when  out  of  their  senses  have  conferred 
great  benefits  on  Hellas,  but  when  in  their  senses  few  or  none  .  .  . 
And  in  proportion  as  prophecy  is  higher  and  more  perfect  than 
divination,  both  in  name  and  reality,  in  the  same  proportion,  as 
the  ancients  testify,  is  madness  superior  to  a  sane  mind,  for  the 
one  is  only  of  human,  the  other  of  divine  origin.” 


132 


CHRISTIAN  WAYS  OF  SALVATION 


the  Catholic  ritual.  By  sacred  symbols  and  transac¬ 
tions  the  divine  life  is  infused  into  human  nature, 
which  is  thus  transformed  by  an  act  of  God,  and  not 
by  human  effort.  Even  creeds  tend  to  become  sacra¬ 
mental,  imparting  to  the  believer  the  miraculous  power 
of  the  mystery  which  they  define  in  words.  The  re¬ 
cipient  remains  passive  while  he  is  filled  with  the 
fulness  of  God.^® 

Two  Christian  rites — baptism  and  the  Lord’s  Supper 
— were  readily  turned  into  Sacramental  mysteries. 
The  one  was  the  sacrament  of  initiation,  the  other  of 
sustentation;  both  tangible  media  by  which  the  bless¬ 
ings  of  redemption  were  conveyed  to  men.  The  earlier 
conception  of  the  sacraments  as  symbols,  and  perhaps 
also  as  bearers,  of  the  forgiveness  of  sin  fell  into  the 
background.  Baptism  and  the  Lord’s  Supper  were 
turned  into  mysteries  which  “save”  (I  Peter  3:21), 
and  which  protect  and  preserve  men  “unto  the  day  of 
redemption”  (Ephesians  4:30;  Revelation  7:2;  9:4). 
In  baptism  the  new  birth  is  symbolized  by  a  dying  and 
a  rising  again.  It  is  the  bath  of  regeneration.  An  im¬ 
planting  into  Christ  takes  place  while  the  convert 
passes  through  the  water;  he  comes  out  a  citizen  of 
heaven.^®  Justin  Martyr  says:  “They  are  brought 


Speaking  of  the  pre-Christian  mysteries  which  were  introduced 
into  Greece,  those  of  Attis,  of  Isis,  and  of  Mithra,  Farnell  says: 
“In  most  of  these  the  records  allow  us  to  discover  many  inter¬ 
esting  ideas  that  reappear  in  Catholic  Christianity;  such,  for  in¬ 
stance,  as  community  with  the  divinity  through  sacrament,  the 
mystic  death  and  rebirth  of  the  catechumen,  the  saving  efficacy 
of  baptism  and  purification.  These  rites  could  satisfy  the  craving 
of  the  mortal  to  attain  to  the  conviction  of  immortality  and  to 
the  ecstatic  consciousness  of  complete  or  temporary  self-absorption 
in  God.”  “Encyclopedia  of  Religion  and  Ethics,”  Art.  “Greek  Re¬ 
ligion,”  VI.  pp.  422-423. 

"^“See  Harnack,  “Expansion  of  Christianity,”  Eng.  trans.,  I.  pp. 
482-488. 


THE  ANCIENT  CATHOLIC  WAY 


133 

by  us  to  where  there  is  water,  and  are  born  again.” 
Ignatius  speaks  of  the  Supper  as  the  ^^saving  means 
of  incorruptibility,”  or  ^The  medicine  of  immortality 
and  the  antidote  to  prevent  dying.” 

Irenseus  says: 

For  as  the  bread  which  is  produced  from  the  earth  when 
it  receives  the  invocation  of  God  is  no  longer  common 
bread,  but  the  eucharist,  consisting  of  two  realities,  earthly 
and  heavenly;  so,  also,  our  bodies,  when  they  receive  the 
eucharist,  are  no  longer  corruptible,  having  the  hope  of 
resurrection  unto  eternity.^^ 

The  ancient  Fathers  generally  accept  the  Lord’s 
Supper  as  the  mystery  of  personal  deification  which 
was  needed  to  supplement  the  mystical  theory  of  a 
general  deification  of  mankind  through  the  incarna¬ 
tion.  The  Spirit  of  God  descended  upon  Christians 
even  in  ordinary  meetings,  and  manifested  his  presence 
by  mysterious  and  miraculous  phenomena.  The  be¬ 
liever  was  sure  that  God  in  a  mystical  way  changed 
his  nature,  brought  him  into  close  communion  with 
Christ,  and  allowed  him  to  appropriate  the  benefits 
of  his  work  in  visible  and  tangible  forms.  This  theory 
of  salvation  was  native  to  pagan  soil,  and  displaced 
the  moral  and  spiritual  views  of  the  early  Christians. 
Eternity  was  brought  palpably  near.  The  sacramental 
idea  pervaded  everything.  Symbols  of  divine  realities 
multiplied,  and  men  lived  again  in  an  atmosphere  of 
miracle  and  mystery  as  they  did  in  pentecostal  days, 
but  in  a  different  sense. 

The  mystery,  however,  was  not  without  moral  re¬ 
quirements.  The  novice  preparing  for  initiation  into 

““Apology,”  I.  p.  61. 

““Ep.  to  Ephesians,”  20. 

““Adv.  Haer.,”  IV.  18:5. 


134 


CHRISTIAN  WAYS  OF  SALVATION 


the  church  was  put  under  a  long  discipline,  examina¬ 
tion  of  motives,  and  moral  instruction.  Sincere  sorrow 
for  past  sins  and  a  firm  resolve  ^To  do  what  the  Lord 
wills”  were  conditions  of  regeneration  through  bap¬ 
tism.  Many  examples  of  devout  Christian  living  may 
be  cited  from  the  ancient  Catholic  period.^^  But  the 
increasing  stress  on  rites  and  ceremonies,  and  the 
recrudescence  of  popular  paganism  in  the  congrega¬ 
tions  of  the  fourth  century,  weakened  the  emphasis 
on  moral  living,  and  turned  Christianity  into  a  religion 
of  cult  and  mystery  with  a  ceremonial,  far  more  than 
an  ethical,  piety.  The  Church  was  no  longer  primarily 
concerned  about  the  holiness  of  its  members  in  the 
midst  of  a  sinful  world,  but  spent  its  energies  in  the 
maintenance  of  dogmatic  unity  and  political  and 
world-conquering  purposes. 

In  this  scheme  of  salvation  the  death  of  Christ  holds 
a  subordinate  place.  Kilpatrick  says: 

Athanasius  is  able  to  give  a  real  place  in  redemption  to 
the  death  and  resurrection  of  Christ,  but  it  is  not  the  place 
assigned  to  them  in  the  New  Testament.  It  is  still  the 
question  of  deliverance  from  mortality  with  which  he  is 
dealing.  In  the  death  of  Christ  the  law  of  death  is  abro¬ 
gated,  and  in  the  resurrection  of  Christ  incorruption  is 
guaranteed.^^ 

The  cardinal  and  formative  fact  is  the  incarnation, 
through  which  there  is  at-one-ment  between  God  and 
man.  It  is  easy  to  see  how  the  Logos  incarnate  could 
be  a  teacher,  an  example,  or  a  vital  principle  trans¬ 
forming  human  nature;  but  what  the  effect  of  his 
death  may  be,  is  more  difficult  to  say.  Yet  the  cruci- 

“WenJe,  ‘‘Beginnings  of  Christianity,”  I.  p.  345;  Neander, 
“Memorials  of  Christian  Life,”  p.  59. 

^  Hastings,  “Encyclopedia  of  Religion  and  Ethics,”  XI.  p.  705. 


THE  ANCIENT  CATHOLIC  WAY 


135 


fixion  is  written  too  large  in  the  New  Testament,  and 
makes  too  strong  an  appeal  to  the  Christian  conscience, 
to  be  ignored.  Some  place  must  be  made  for  it  even  in 
the  theology  of  the  incarnation. 

Origen  expounded  at  length  a  theory  of  Christas 
death.  It  was  viewed  both  as  a  propitiation  for  sin, 
and  as  the  payment  of  a  ransom  to  Satan  in  order  that 
his  dominion  over  men  may  be  ended.^^  Similar  views 
were  held  by  Irenseus,  Tertullian,  and  Valentinus.^® 
Augustine,  later,  held  that  the  devil  had  certain  rights 
over  sinful  men,  but  that  he  forfeited  them  when  he 
killed  Christ.  Therefore,  those  who  believe  in  Christ 
are  freed  from  the  power  of  the  devil,  for  over  Christ 
the  devil  had  no  right.  In  addition  to  this  view,  he 
speaks  of  Christ’s  death  in  a  forensic  sense,  but, 
like  Tertullian,  without  constructing  a  satisfactory 
theory. 

According  to  Greek  Catholicism,  where  the  incarna¬ 
tion  is  central,  Jesus  was  born  that  men  might  become 
sons  of  God;  in  Roman  Catholicism,  where  the  cruci¬ 
fixion  is  central,  Jesus  died  that  men  might  become 
sons  of  God.  Furthermore,  the  theory  of  salvation 
controlled  the  doctrine  of  the  person  of  Christ. 
Soteriology  was  the  basis  of  christology.  Since  man’s 
redemption  from  sin  was  effected  through  the  union 
of  God  with  man,  through  the  communication  of  the 
life  of  God  to  dying  man,  the  Savior  must  be  both  God 
and  man,  vere  deus  and  vere  homo;  for  only  in  this 

“  ‘Another  issue  of  the  exaggerated  doctrine  of  the  devil  is  seen 
in  the  typical  patristic  theory  from  Irenaeiis  onwards,  touching  the 
death  of  Christ  as  a  ransom  for  sin-enslaved  men,  which  was  largely 
occasioned  by  the  loss  of  the  true  key  to  certain  Biblical  phrases, 
especially  Paul’s  touching  the  claims  of  the  law  as  needing  to 
be  satisfied  ere  God  could  be  ‘just’  in  justifying  and  saving  men.” 
Bartlett  and  Carlyle,  “Christianity  in  History,”  p.  202. 

^®Harnack,  “Dogmengeschichte,”  I.  p.  635. 


136 


CHRISTIAN  WAYS  OF  SALVATION 


way  is  a  real  union  and  redemption  actually  ac¬ 
complished.  Upon  the  essential  deity  and  humanity  of 
Jesus,  depended  the  character  of  Christianity  as  a  re¬ 
ligion  of  salvation.  Arianism  would  have  reduced  it 
to  a  system  of  ethical  culture,  either  as  a  Jewish  sect 
or  as  a  Greek  school  of  philosophy  and  morals. 

Western  Catholicism  accepted  the  terms  of  Greek 
christology,  but  gave  it  different  meaning.  It  laid 
primary  emphasis  on  the  crucifixion  as  satisfaction, 
atonement,  for  the  sins  of  men.  Sin  was  thought  of 
as  guilt,  not  as  disease ;  guilt  to  be  atoned,  not  disease 
to  be  cured.  But,  according  to  Anselm,  who  furnished 
in  the  W^est  the  classic  exposition  of  the  atonement, 
the  answer  to  the  question.  Cur  deus  homo?  was,  that 
such  satisfaction  can  be  made  only  by  one  who  is  both 
God  and  man.  He  must  be  true  man,  because  the 
same  human  nature  which  has  sinned  must  make 
satisfaction  for  sin.  He  must  be  true  God,  ^That  by 
the  power  of  his  Godhead  he  might  bear,  in  his  man¬ 
hood,  the  burden  of  God’s  wrath,  and  so  obtain  for 
and  restore  to  us  righteousness  and  life.”  Clearly 
here  are  two  wholly  different  motives  for  the  two 
natures  of  Christ,  and  yet  both  are  rooted  in  an  ex¬ 
perience  of  salvation.  In  answer  to  the  question,  Cur 
deus  homo?  Irenaeus  said:  “God  became  man  that  we 
might  become  sons  of  God,”  i.e.,  by  an  imparting  of 
the  divine  life  to  mortal  man;  Anselm  said,  God  be¬ 
came  man  to  make  satisfaction  for  man’s  guilt  and 
thus  enable  God  to  restore  man  to  divine  favor.^^ 

We  may  well  pause  to  ask  whether  the  Greek  or 
the  Latin  reason  for  the  necessity  of  the  incarnation 

^  Heidelberg  Catechism,  Questions  16  and  17. 

^“Cur  Deus  Homo,”  Deane’s  trans.,  p.  246,  Religion  of  Science 
Library,  No.  54. 


THE  ANCIENT  CATHOLIC  WAY 


137 


of  the  Logos  satisfies  either  the  New  Testament  or 
the  Christian  consciousness.  The  theories  of  atone¬ 
ment  of  Irena3us  and  of  Anselm  were  serious  attempts 
to  account  for  the  experience  of  salvation  which  men 
had  with  Christ  and  in  his  Church;  but  after  all  no 
theory  is  quite  adequate  to  explain  this  supreme  fact 
of  human  life.  Perchance  God  became  man  that  Jesus 
might  show  us  the  Father, — him  whom  Philip  asked 
to  see.  When  men  behold  him  in  the  face  and  the 
life,  in  the  words,  the  deeds,  and  the  death  of  Jesus, 
they  will  arise  and  go  unto  him.  Then  they  are 
saved, — saved  by  infinite  grace  casting  its  arms  around 
the  hopeless  sinner. 


CHAPTER  VI 


THE  OKTHODOX  CATHOLIC  WAY 

Orthodox  Catholicism  and  Roman  Catholicism  are 
rooted  in  the  subsoil  of  ancient  Catholicism.  They 
have  the  same  heritage  and  yet  differ  in  spirit  and 
method,  especially  in  the  way  of  salvation.  They 
have  in  common  the  trinitarian  theology,  the  two- 
nature  christology,  clergy  and  laity,  priests  and  bishops, 
abbots  and  monks,  sacraments  and  masses,  virgin  and 
saints,  images  and  relics,  sacred  days  and  seasons.  The 
Church,  the  divinely  ordained  institution,  is  mediator 
between  God  and  the  soul.  Only  through  it  can  man 
find  access  to  God  and  obtain  salvation.  To  the  casual 
observer,  the  filioque  and  the  pope  excepted,  they  are 
as  much  alike  as  two  peas  in  a  pod. 

Notwithstanding  these  resemblances  the  two 
churches  differ  widely  in  spirit  and  method.  Ortho¬ 
doxy  is  controlled  by  the  Greek  genius  and  the 
mystical  conception  of  salvation;  Roman  Catholicism 
by  the  Latin  genius  and  the  juridical  conception  of 
salvation.  The  one  professes  to  deliver  men  from 
ignorance,  error,  mortality,  and  the  limitations  of 
matter;  the  other,  from  original  sin,  hell,  and  purga¬ 
tory.  For  the  Orthodox  Catholic  mortality  is  the 
greatest  evil,  and  eternal  life  the  supreme  good.  Only 
the  essence  of  God  in  the  flesh,  the  incarnation  of 
the  Logos,  can  counteract  the  principle  of  decay  and 
death  (^^opd  and  endue  men  with  saving  light  and 

138 


THE  ORTHODOX  CATHOLIC  WAY 


139 


life.  Thus  the  doctrine  of  the  incarnation,  the  divine- 
human  Christ,  was  an  outgrowth  of  the  Greek  con¬ 
ception  of  sin  and  redemption.  Both  an  illuminating 
and  an  energizing  power  emanates  from  him  into  men, 
and  this  blessing  is  perpetuated  through  the  centuries 
in  the  dogmas  and  mysteries  of  the  Church.  But  even 
dogma  has  receded  into  the  background,  and  the  chief 
interest  is  found  in  the  mysteries. 

The  Orthodox  Church  has  now  become  primarily 
an  institution  of  worship, — no  longer  of  dogma  or  of 
deed.  The  dogma  is  volatilized  and  visualized  in  the 
ritual.^  The  symbol  of  faith  is  incorporated  in  the 
cultus,  read  on  Sundays  from  the  most  holy  place  and 
in  the  most  solemn  service  of  the  mass,  as  one  of  many 
incomprehensible  mysteries.  “All  that  Christ  can  do 
for  the  soul  is  done  in  the  Eucharist.  It  is  the  medicine 
of  immortality,  the  instrument  of  deification.  Rapt  in 
spirit  before  the  altar,  severed  from  all  things  of  sense, 
in  deep  emotion  beyond  all  processes  of  reason,  almost 
above  consciousness  of  self,  the  soul  tastes  salvation 
and  almost  enjoys  the  beatific  vision,  which  will  one 
day,  in  a  moment,  admit  him  to  the  immortal  life  and 
give  him  the  object  of  his  passionate  aspiration — 
participation  in  the  divine  nature.’’  ^  The  original 
meaning  of  the  essential  doctrines  was  lost  sight  of. 

similar  development  is  found  in  the  religion  of  Israel.  Pro¬ 
fessor  H.  I.  Holtzmann  says;  “Thus  the  post-exilic  Judaism,  at 
least  since  the  days  of  the  Maccabees,  became  out  and  out  (ganz 
und  gar)  a  nation  (under)  of  the  Law;  authority,  tradition,  insti¬ 
tution,  liturgy,  ritual,  dominate  the  religion  and  the  ethical  life.” 
“N.  T.  Theologie,”  I.  p.  27.  This  was  precisely  the  result  when 
the  religion  of  Jesus  was  transformed  into  ancient  Catholicism. 
It  seems  a  law  of  religious  history  that  the  prophetic  spirit  of 
the  founder  is  superseded  by  the  legalistic  spirit  of  the  followers 
who  no  longer  share  in  the  personal  experience  of  their  leader. 

*  Kilpatrick,  Hastings,  “Encyclopedia  of  Religion  and  Ethics,”  XI. 
p.  705. 


140 


CHRISTIAN  WAYS  OF  SALVATION 


The  oriental  Catholic  became  weary  of  theological 
controversies  and  hair-splitting  distinctions,  and  re¬ 
solved  no  more  to  speculate,  but  permitted  himself 
only  to  contemplate  divine  truths. 

Professor  Glubokovsky  supports  this  view  when  he 
says: 

Orthodox  Christianity  manifests  itself  not  as  a  doctrine, 
but  as  a  life  of  mystic  communion  with  God  in  Christ,  and 
of  restoration  of  the  grace  of  the  Holy  Spirit  in  the  entire 
brotherhood  of  the  faithful.  .  .  .  That  is  why  in  Orthodoxy 
are  so  predominant  the  sacraments  of  grace  which  embrace 
the  whole  existence  of  man  in  every  respect.  They  are  not 
an  outward  symbol,  not  a  ritual  accessory,  but  an  indis¬ 
pensable  element  of  the  vivifying  power  of  Christianity 
itself  which  is  assured  by  hierarchical  priesthood  in  direct 
succession  of  the  Lord  Savior.^ 

The  incarnation,  death,  and  resurrection  of  the  God- 
man  and  the  trinity  of  the  Godhead  are  presented  in 
ritualistic  symbolism,  the  benefits  of  which  are  ob¬ 
tained  by  mystical  absorption,  rather  than  by  logical 
thought.  Man  has  no  other  communion  with  God 
than  to  behold  him  in  the  sacred  drama  of  the  ritual, 
no  other  fellowship  with  him  than  to  enjoy  him  in 
vision.  The  powers  of  salvation  are  mediated  through 
sacraments,  ordinances,  and  through  hundreds  of 
formulas  small  and  great.  The  mystical  operation  of 
baptism  is  described  by  Leonid  Turkevich  (Con¬ 
structive  Quarterly,  September,  1919,  p.  499) : 

When  at  Baptism  the  child  is  brought  under  the  benefi¬ 
cent  yoke  of  Christ,  he  who  was  the  child  of  the  wrath  of 
God  is  torn  away  from  the  power  of  the  devil,  is  freed  from 
the  ancient  rudiments  of  the  world,  from  subjection  to 
vanity,  Satan,  decay,  and  is  admitted  into  the  heavenly 

^The  Constructive  Quarterly,  June,  1913,  p.  302. 


THE  ORTHODOX  CATHOLIC  WAY 


141 


kingdom,  a  spiritual  creature  after  the  image  of  Him  that 
created  him  (Col.  3:10).  In  baptism,  new,  radiant,  and 
pure  elements  take  possession  of  the  newly-baptized  one;  a 
guardian  angel  watches  over  him;  he  is  grafted  as  a  branch 
with  the  One  Fruitful  Vine,  Christ  (John  15:5) ;  he  is  intro¬ 
duced  into  the  sphere  of  faith,  hope  and  charity,  and  be¬ 
comes  a  son  and  heir  of  the  kingdom  of  God  through 
Christ;  he  can  grow  in  this  new  sphere,  ultimately  earning 
perfect  bliss  with  all  those  who  have  pleased  God”  (Mat¬ 
thew  25:34). 

The  place  of  the  priest  in  the  process  of  redemption 
is  clearly  shown  by  Professor  Glubokovsky: 

For  it  is  the  Orthodox  conviction  that  the  mediation  of  a 
divinely  established  priesthood  is  necessary  to  the  Christian 
renewal  of  our  entire  being  and  order.  In  the  work  of  re¬ 
generation  Christianity  binds  each  of  us  indissolubly  to  the 
Divine  Redeemer,  and  through  Him,  as  the  Only  Begotten 
Son  of  God,  establishes  our  Sonship  to  God  the  Father, 
so  that,  becoming  children  of  God  through  grace,  believers 
became  indeed  brothers.” — Constructive  Quarterly,  March, 
1917,  pp.  77-78. 

Signs,  pictures,  sacred  acts  punctiliously  performed, 
are  means  of  grace,  and  prepare  the  devotee  for  eternal 
life.  In  this  way  men  undergo  deoTrolrjaLs,  deifica¬ 
tion.  The  house  of  worship,  its  ornaments,  sanctuaries, 
altar,  icons,  candles,  priestly  vestments,  singing  of  the 
choir,  the  liturgy  with  all  its  minor  details,  reaching  a 
climax  in  the  mass — all  are  parts  of  worship  by  which 
the  believer  feels  himself  transported  into  heavenly 
places  and  obtains  foretastes  of  celestial  bliss.  Noth¬ 
ing,  we  are  assured,  so  well  satisfies  the  religious  feel¬ 
ings  of  the  Russian  moujik  as  the  sacred  icon,  in  which 
the  spiritual  is  fused  with  the  material,  and  the 
heavenly  becomes  visible  in  the  earthly.  The 
miraculous  power  of  the  saint  is  operative  in  his  icon. 


142 


CHRISTIAN  WAYS  OF  SALVATION 


With  such  relics  of  saints  [of  the  Virgin  and  the  blessed 
Saints]  the  Church  consecrates  its  buildings,  its  altars,  the 
altar  antirmins,  using  them  as  a  physical  link  with  the 
spiritual  properties  of  the  departed  Saint,  which  bestow 
consecration  on  our  bodies  and  our  souls.  .  .  .  The  spirit 
of  Orthodoxy  lends  sacredness  to  these  images — sacred  in 
destination  and  use — in  such  a  potent  way  that  truly  a 
miracle-working  power  is  bestowed  on  them — the  power  of 
grace  working  through  them  and  emanating  from  them. — 
Leonid  Turkevich,  Art.  “The  Spirit  of  the  Orthodox  Church 
Service,”  Constructive  Quarterly,  v.  7,  No.  3,  p.  504. 

In  a  conversation  with  Professor  Simpson  (1915) 
a  Russian  friend  said:  “I  do  not  know  if  St.  Metro¬ 
phanes  actually  did  this  or  that,  or  whether  any  pro¬ 
portion  of  the  stories  of  St.  Seraphim  are  true,  but  I 
do  know  that  in  the  Russia  of  to-day  there  is  a  great 
behef  that  God  is  working  in  the  world  both  through 
his  servants  who  still  remain  and  through  those  whom 
he  has  taken  to  himself.^^  The  Russian  Christian  has 
an  attitude  of  expectancy,  a  naive  sense  of  wonder, 
always  believing  that  God  is  working  in  a  miraculous 
way  in  his  own  life  and  the  life  of  the  nation.^ 

The  contrast  of  Orthodoxy  with  Roman  Catholicism 
throws  light  on  each.  Orthodox  worship  is  sacra¬ 
mental  and  representational;  Roman  worship  is  sacri¬ 
ficial  and  propitiatory.  The  aim  of  the  former  is  the 
deification  of  man  by  the  enduement  of  his  nature  with 

■‘The  metaphysical  background  for  the  mystical  conception  of 
worship  was  furnished  by  the  speculations  of  Dionysius  the 
Areopagite  (Acts  17:34),  whose  writings  date  about  500  a.d.  He 
brought  the  earthly  cultus  into  close  connection  with  the  system  of 
super-terrestrial  forces  which  were  set  forth  in  theological  meta¬ 
physics.  The  terrestrial  hierarchy  was  assumed  to  be  the  organ 
(counterpart)  of  a  celestial  hierarchy  for  the  transference  of  heav¬ 
enly  powers  to  the  mortal  nature  of  man.  Even  the  word  ortho¬ 
doxy  was  changed  so  as  to  mean,  not  conformity  to  doctrine,  but 
submission  to  the  enactments  of  the  Church,  especially  in  matters 
of  worship. 


THE  ORTHODOX  CATHOLIC  WAY 


143 


divine  life  through  the  ritual;  the  aim  of  the  latter  is 
to  placate  God  through  sacrifice  and  to  win  merit  for 
the  worshiper,  that  he  may  become  righteous  before 
God.  Even  the  motives  for  asceticism  in  the  two 
churches  correspond  to  these  views  of  worship.  In 
Orthodoxy  the  aim  of  asceticism  is  to  purify  a  man 
and  prepare  him  for  receiving  divine  life;  in  Roman 
Catholicism  it  is  intended  to  satisfy  God  and  to  make 
men  worthy  of  divine  favor.  The  appeal  of  Orthodoxy 
is  to  the  phantasy  and  feelings;  that  of  Roman 
Catholicism  is  to  the  will  in  the  way  of  doing  penance 
and  of  bringing  the  world  itself  under  control  of  the 
Church. 

The  redemptive  idea  of  Orthodoxy  accounts  for  its 
indifference  to  secular,  or  civil,  power.  It  has  no  am¬ 
bition  for  the  control  of  empires  and  kingdoms  on 
earth.  Its  only  aim  is  to  deliver  man  from  this  perish¬ 
able  world,  and  to  exalt  him  to  immortal  life  in  the 
world  above.  One  looks  in  vain  for  a  program  for  the 
transformation  of  the  state  into  a  City  of  God — 
civitas  dei.  It  seeks  only  protection  from  the  govern¬ 
ment  as  long  as  its  administrators  are  orthodox, — so 
that  it  may  perform  without  hindrance  its  religious 
functions.  Its  highest  political  ideal  is  a  universal 
empire  which  would  permit  and  encourage  the  church 
to  fulfil  its  mission  of  salvation.  For  lack  of  a  uni¬ 
versal  imperium,  the  church  is  content  to  be  under  the 
fostering  care  of  nation  states,  the  different  national 
churches  finding  their  unity  not  in  a  visible  head,  but 
in  a  common  creed,  the  Nicene,  and  a  common  liturgy, 
the  Liturgy  of  St.  Chrysostom  or  of  St.  Basil. 

Again,  a  comparison  of  Orthodoxy  and  Roman 
Catholicism  on  this  point  is  illuminating.  Both  be¬ 
lieve  in  an  other-worldly  redemption,  exaltation  to 


144 


CHRISTIAN  WAYS  OF  SALVATION 


blissful  immortality.  Roman  Catholicism,  however, 
went  further  in  its  claim.  It  accepted  Augustine’s 
program  of  a  City  of  God  on  earth,  the  nations  con¬ 
trolled  by  God  through  the  Catholic  Church.  With 
the  Rule  of  St.  Benedict  in  one  hand  and  St.  Augus¬ 
tine’s  City  of  God  in  the  other,  the  Church  of  Rome 
demanded,^  in  the  name  of  the  Lord,  that  the  individual 
renounce  the  world,  and  that  the  institution  conquer 
the  world.  Doors  and  windows  were  thrown  wide 
open  toward  imperial  Rome,  whose  spirit  of  conquest 
and  dominion  entered  the  Holy  City  and  inspired  the 
saints  to  establish  the  kingdom  of  God  upon  earth. 
Roman  Catholicism  may  be  compared  to  an  ellipse 
with  two  foci,  the  one  representing  the  blessings  of 
redemption  in  the  world  to  come;  the  other,  the  rule 
of  God  over  the  nations  through  the  Roman  Catholic 
Church.  Greek  Catholicism  is  more  like  a  circle,  with 
its  center  representing  redemption  in  the  world  be¬ 
yond, — only  that  and  nothing  more.  Yet  this  differ¬ 
ence  in  purpose  accounts  for  the  wide  divergence  of 
Orthodoxy  in  method  and  spirit,  though  Catholic,  from 
Roman  Catholicism.  The  two  churches  differ  some¬ 
what  as  the  Greek  philosopher  and  the  Roman  em¬ 
peror,  the  one  laying  aside  his  cloak  and  the  other  his 
scepter,  but  each  in  his  own  spirit  and  way  taking 
up  the  cross  of  Christ. 

The  way  of  salvation  of  Orthodoxy  deeply  influences 
the  life  and  the  piety  of  its  adherents.  The  emphasis 
on  the  mystical  impartation  of  salvation  through  the 
sacraments  magnifies  the  metaphysical,  and  minimizes 
the  ethical,  factors  in  religion.  Its  primary  motive 
in  living,  as  in  government  and  worship,  is  to  prepare 
men  for  the  other  world.  It  is  usually  attended  by 
a  deep-seated  pessimism  in  regard  to  this  world.  “Be- 


THE  ORTHODOX  CATHOLIC  WAY 


145 


hold  the  perfect  Christian/’  cried  a  Russian,  as  he  stood 
before  an  image  of  a  crucified  monk.  The  monk,  bear¬ 
ing  the  whole  yoke  of  Christ,  represents  the  highest 
ideal  of  Christian  living.  ‘‘He  alone  can  direct  his 
soul,  in  entire  withdrawal  from  sense,  upon  the  divine, 
so  as  to  obtain  the  vision  of  it  and  become  one  with 
it.”  The  layman  is  a  Christian  of  a  lower  degree.  He 
continues  to  live  in  the  social  order,  and  observes  only 
the  necessary  precepts  of  Christ,  prescribed  in  the 
moral  law  and  ceremonial  commandments,  and  requir¬ 
ing  only  partial  asceticism.  The  youth  are  taught  the 
Decalogue,  the  Lord’s  Prayer,  and  the  Beatitudes. 
Warning  is  given  that  men  are  judged  according  to 
their  deeds.  In  this  way  moral  endeavor  is  at  least 
to  some  extent  encouraged.  But  the  tendency  is  far 
more  toward  a  ritualistic  than  an  ethical  piety.  Be¬ 
sides  the  Decalogue,  “nine  principal  commandments 
of  the  Church”  are  taught: — these  relate  to  the  ob¬ 
servance  of  festivals  and  fasts,  the  honoring  of  the 
clergy,  the  necessity  of  annual  confession,  the  shun¬ 
ning  of  heretical  literature,  and  the  solemnizing  of 
marriage  on  appropriate  days.  Innumerable  ecclesi¬ 
astical  customs  have  grown  up  in  the  course  of  cen¬ 
turies,  which  have  the  authority  of  law,  but  burden 
more  than  inspire  Christian  living.  The  sole  purpose 
of  keeping  the  moral  law  and  of  observing  the  ritual 
is  to  prepare  the  soul,  through  the  sacraments,  for  the 
reception  of  a4)Bapaia^ — incorruptibility,  or  aOavaaia^ — 
immortality. 

Withal  a  desponding  melancholia  has  settled  upon 
the  Orthodox  Christian  of  the  Orient,  so  far  as  his 
creed  is  reflected  in  his  mood.  From  this  world  he 
expects  nothing:  he  is,  therefore,  prepared  for  the 
worst  and  resigned  to  his  fate.  The  passive  virtues, 


146 


CHRISTIAN  WAYS  OF  SALVATION 


through  centuries  of  suffering  and  submission,  are 
highly  developed.  Pity  is  shown  everywhere  to  ‘The 
partners  of  sorrow/^  as  Marcion  in  the  second  century 
already  called  his  fellows  in  the  faith.  Into  this  en¬ 
veloping  gloom,  which  paralyzes  thought  and  action, 
the  church  with  her  hope  of  a  blissful  immortality 
casts  a  ray  of  light,  which  illuminates  but  a  narrow 
way  for  the  pilgrim  heavenward ;  while  to  the  right  and 
left  there  is  the  blackness  of  darkness. 

Of  this  type  of  Christianity,  Professor  Glubokovsky 
says: 

Orthodoxy  is  the  authentic  and  primitive  Christianity  of 
our  Lord  Savior  and  of  his  apostles.  Orthodoxy  suc¬ 
cessively  preserves  and  holds  it,  adapting  it  and  developing 
it  amid  various  historical  conditions.  It  results  therefrom, 
that  in  its  inward  trust.  Orthodoxy  thinks  itself  as  Chris¬ 
tianity  in  its  primordial  completeness  and  uncorrupted 
entirety. 

These  claims  to  original  apostolicity  and  unperverted 
catholicity,  the  Protestant  historian  cannot  permit  to 
go  unchallenged.  He  feels  that  it  is  a  far  cry  from 
the  Nazarene,  preaching  on  the  Palestinian  mount,  to 
Constantine,  in  his  imperial  robes  at  Nicea.  Under 
the  influence  of  Greek  philosophy,  oriental  mysteries, 
Jewish  and  Roman  law,  and  vulgar  paganism,  the 
simple  gospel  and  the  brotherhood  of  believers  under¬ 
went  a  profound  change,  a  reversion  rather  to  a  lower 
plane,  than  an  advance  to  a  higher  plane,  of  the 
religion  of  Jesus  and  the  apostles.  Professor  Harnack 
says: 

In  its  external  form  as  a  whole  this  Church  [the  Ortho¬ 
dox]  is  nothing  more  than  a  continuation  of  the  history  of 
Greek  religion  under  the  alien  influence  of  Christianity.  .  .  . 


THE  ORTHODOX  CATHOLIC  WAY  147 

It  takes  the  form,  not  of  a  Christian  product  in  a  Greek 
dress,  but  of  a  Greek  product  in  a  Christian  dress.® 

Clearly  in  the  Orthodox  system  of  salvation  little 
room  is  made  for  the  historical  Jesus, — his  words  and 
his  works.  The  appeal  is  not  made  to  the  will  of  man, 
but  all  interest  centers  on  man’s  nature  and  God’s 
entrance  into  it.  Of  far  more  value  than  his  historical 
life,  is  the  constitution  of  Christ’s  person,  through 
which  the  essence  of  Deity  is  infused  into  corruptible 
human  nature.  The  Logos  is  in  Jesus  as  the  Spirit  is 
in  the  sacraments:  these  are  human  and  material 
vessels  for  the  conveyance  of  divine  powers.  The 
desire  for  forgiveness,  for  personal  relation  to  the 
living  God  through  the  mediator,  Jesus  Christ,  plays 
a  minor  part  in  the  religious  life  of  Oriental  Orthodoxy, 

““What  is  Christianity?”  Eng.  trans.,  p.  221. 


CHAPTER  VII 


THE  KOMAN  CATHOLIC  WAY 

The  Roman  Catholic  Church  has  its  own  distinctive 
way  of  salvation.  It  shares  many  things  with  Ortho¬ 
dox  Catholicism,  yet,  under  the  influence  of  the  Roman 
spirit  in  the  West,  it  developed  a  genius  of  its  own. 
The  difference  between  the  two  churches,  each  bear¬ 
ing  the  name  ‘‘Catholic,’^  is  expressed  on  the  one  hand 
by  the  title  ^‘Orthodox,^^  and  on  the  other  by  the  term 
“Roman.’’  “Roman,”  however,  came  more  and  more 
to  be  identified  with  “papal.” 

I 

The  idea  of  God  held  by  the  Latin  Christians  was 
different  from  that  of  the  Greeks.  The  Romans  were 
not  philosophers,  and  found  little  interest  in  meta¬ 
physical  speculations.  They  were  by  nature  law¬ 
makers  and  governors,  and  produced  “not  metaphysics 
but  jurisprudence”;  and  from  that  point  of  view  they 
interpreted  man’s  relation  to  God.  They  thought  of 
God,  not  as  an  “essence,”  or  a  changeless,  incorruptible, 
spiritual,  substance;  but  as  a  superman,  a  transcendent 
person  who  is  Creator  and  Father,  King  and  Judge. ^ 

^  Kilpatrick  says :  “While  the  idea  of  God,  in  formal  Latin  ortho¬ 
doxy,  is  the  Greek  Absolute,  taken  over  without  revision,  this 
empty  notion  is  filled  with  contents  derived  from  the  person  and 
authority  of  the  Roman  emperor  .  .  . 

“That,  moreover,  which  goes  with  the  Greek  idea  of  God — ^the 
conception,  namely,  of  a  salvation  which  consists  in  deification  and 

148 


THE  ROMAN  CATHOLIC  WAY 


149 


He  was  not,  however,  the  Father  of  grace  and  provi¬ 
dence  revealed  by  Jesus,  nigh  to  all  and  accessible  to 
all,  inspiring  faith  and  love, — the  God  of  the  Prodigal 
Son,  of  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount,  the  Christlike  God. 
Early  in  the  history  of  the  Church  the  sovereignty, 
justice,  and  holiness  of  God  overshadowed  the  qualities 
of  grace  and  truth.  When  they  spoke  of  him  as 
Father,  they  thought  of  the  creator  and  ruler  of  the 
universe,  and  the  sovereign  and  dispenser  of  human 
destiny, — the  divine  Emperor.  The  human  aspects 
of  Jesus  were  eclipsed  by  his  heavenly  glory:  before 
him  men  stood  in  awe  and  adoration,  instead  of  coming 
to  him  as  the  friend  of  sinners,  the  refuge  of  the  weary, 
the  elder  brother. 

Men’s  relation  to  God  was  defined  in  legal  terms, 
somewhat  as  a  contract  with  clearly  stipulated  con¬ 
ditions  binding  on  both  parties.  The  mercy  of  God 
consisted  mainly  in  his  readiness  to  make  known  to 
men  the  conditions  of  salvation,  not  in  the  assurance 
of  salvation  by  grace  through  faith.  The  content, 
both  doctrine  and  precepts,  of  the  gospel  was  regarded 
as  law :  the  doctrine  binding  the  intellect ;  the  precepts 
the  will. 


II 

The  modifying  factors  in  the  West  were  the  Latin 
spirit  and  the  influence  of  Augustine. 

The  Romans  were  naturally  in  sympathy  with  the 
legal  elements  in  Paul  and  the  legal  tendency  in  the 
Gentile  Christian  churches,  among  whom  the  ^^new 
law”  of  Christ  secured  a  footing.  A  Christian 

is  attained  in  ecstasy — remains  as  the  highest  grade  of  religious 
attainment.” — “Encyclopedia  of  Religion  and  Ethics,”  Art.  “Soteri- 
ology,”  XL  p.  706. 


150 


CHRISTIAN  WAYS  OF  SALVATION 


ecclesiasticism  took  the  place  of  the  Jewish,  both  being 
legal,  ceremonial,  and  theological  in  spirit.  The  legal¬ 
istic  interpretation  of  Christianity  was  followed  by  the 
Roman  Clement  and  the  Apologists,  and  was  given 
definite  form  for  the  Western  Church  by  Tertullian 
and  Cyprian.  Of  Tertullian  Professor  Gwatkin  says: 
‘^Saint  he  is,  and  martyr;  and  the  Christian  Church  is 
justly  proud  of  him;  yet  his  general  conception  of 
religion  is  much  more  heathen  than  Christian.’’  ^ 

Divine  revelation  was  entrusted  to  officials  who  are 
authorized  of  God  to  interpret  the  truth  and  admin¬ 
ister  the  law.  The  sacraments  bind  the  Christian  to 
certain  duties,  and  infuse  portions  of  grace  into  the 
recipient.  Penance  is  regulated  by  law,  like  the  process 
followed  in  a  civil  court  in  a  suit  in  defense  of  honor. 
The  Church  is  an  institution  of  laws  resembling  a 
secular  state.  It  took  the  place  of  the  Roman  Empire. 
The  tribes  of  the  North  and  West  looked  to  papal 
Rome,  as  formerly  the  Mediterranean  nations  looked 
to  imperial  Rome.  Christianity  was  partly  Roman¬ 
ized,  while  Rome  was  partly  Christianized. 

Professor  Rainy’s  explanation  of  the  conditions 
surrounding  Roman  Christianity  is,  in  effect,  an 
apology  for  its  legalistic  character. 

With  the  flood  of  new  proselytes  the  Church  acquired 
a  constituency  which  could  only  be  dealt  with  on  legal 
principles:  and  such  principles  could  be  applied  only  in 
the  way  of  enjoining  certain  observances.  That  alone 
could  be  practically  intelligible  to  the  mass.  The  assump¬ 
tion  followed,  that  when  these  observances  were  passively 
accepted,  at  least  without  disbelief  or  contradiction,  they 
would  do  their  work,  would  confer  and  accomplish  the 
Christian  salvation.  On  any  other  view,  what  must  be- 


^ ‘‘Knowledge  of  God,”  II.  p.  167. 


THE  ROMAN  CATHOLIC  WAY 


151 


come  of  the  mass  of  other  Christians?  The  theory  which 
is  implied  settled  on  men’s  minds  like  fate.  Christ  has 
furnished  us  with  a  system  of  church  ordinances  which, 
if  reverently  complied  with,  do  mysteriously  effect  salva¬ 
tion.^ 

The  Greek  idea  of  sin — corrupting  the  nature  of 
man  and  ending  in  disease  and  death — did  not  fit  into 
the  Latin  conception  of  God.  For  the  Roman  Chris¬ 
tian,  sin  was  transgression  of  law  and  offense  against 
God.  It  was  rooted  in  the  will,  and  resulted  in  a  sense 
of  guilt  and  the  wrath  of  God.  Man’s  guilt  had  to  be 
satisfied  and  atoned,  before  normal  relations  could 
be  restored  between  the  sinner  and  God.  Accordingly, 
the  controlling  principle  in  Latin  Christianity  is  the 
sacrifice  on  Calvary,  not  the  incarnation  by  the  Holy 
Spirit  of  the  Virgin.  The  sacrificial  idea  is  formative 
in  the  Roman  Catholic  way  of  salvation. 

Besides  the  Latin  spirit,  the  influence  of  Augustine  | 
became  a  modifying  factor  in  Western  Catholicism.  I 
Through  his  own  religious  experience  he  revived  Paul’s  | 
doctrines  of  sin  and  grace,  guilt  and  justification,  pre¬ 
destination  and  depravity.  These  doctrines  had  fallen 
into  the  background  for  centuries  in  the  Church  gen¬ 
erally.  Their  revival  had  a  vitalizing  influence  on 
Roman  Catholicism,  an  influence  which  it  has  never 
wholly  lost,  and  which  helped  to  make  it  different 
from  Eastern  Orthodoxy.  Augustine  traced  all  his  sor¬ 
rows,  weakness,  and  sensuality  to  the  tap-root  of  sin, 
which  is  in  essence  Godlessness, — life  without  God. 
Deliverance  from  the  sinful  condition  can  come  about 
only  through  the  operation  of  God’s  grace  through 
Christ.  By  grace  man  becomes  conscious  of  forgive¬ 
ness,  free  from  the  bondage  of  the  world,  and  inspired 

^“The  Ancient  Catholic  Church,”  p.  521. 


152 


CHRISTIAN  WAYS  OF  SALVATION 


with  love  for  God  and  man.  Augustine  does  not,  how¬ 
ever,  free  himself  wholly  from  Catholic  legalism  and 
rise  to  the  plane  of  Paul  in  his  view  of  justification, 
which  he  considers  a  process  that  continues  until  all 
the  Christian  virtues  are  developed  in  life.  He  would 
have  been  content  with  the  statement,  ^Vhere  there 
is  moral  living,  there  is  forgiveness  and  blessedness.’’ 
By  way  of  contrast  we  cite  again  Luther’s  formula: 
‘‘Where  there  is  forgiveness,  there  are  life  and  salva¬ 
tion.”  None  the  less  a  new  type  of  piety  came  out  of 
Augustine’s  sense  of  sin  and  grace.  It  was  a  personal 
and  inward  experience  of  God  in  Christ, — individual 
surrender  to  eternal  love  and  a  cleaving  unto  God. 
The  consummation  of  the  joy  of  salvation  is  the 
beatific  vision  by  mystic  contemplation.  These  are 
evangelical  notes  and  mystical  tendencies  which  the 
reformers  and  mystics  of  the  future  were  quick  to 
observe. 

Yet,  strange  as  it  may  seem,  Augustine  remained  a 
loyal  Catholic.  He  accepted  without  question  the 
absolute  authority  of  the  Church,  identified  the  Roman 
Catholic  organization  with  the  City  of  God  upon  earth, 
believed  that  it  was  better  for  a  man  to  be  in  the 
Church  against  his  will  than  outside  of  it  by  choice, 
urged  that  heretics  and  schismatics  be  compelled  to 
come  in,  and  that  through  the  Church  only  can  true 
relations  with  God  be  established. 

These  two  tendencies  in  the  greatest  of  the  Latin 
Fathers — the  personal  and  experimental,  on  the  one 
hand,  and  the  institutional  and  authoritative  on  the 
other — were  never  reconciled.^  The  Catholic  element 

^“Id.  Augustine’s  thought  we  have  the  blending  of  four  great  in¬ 
fluences:  1,  a  deep  Pauline  experience;  2,  an  experimental  ac¬ 
quaintance  with  truths  of  Scripture;  3,  the  dominance  of  Neo- 


THE  ROMAN  CATHOLIC  WAY 


153 


usually  prevailed,  and  the  striving  for  direct  relation 
of  the  individual  to  God  was  suppressed.  But  the 
great  personalities  of  the  Middle  Ages  and  the  Re¬ 
formers  in  the  sixteenth  century  kindled  their  religious 
fervor  with  sparks  from  Augustine.  It  is  acknowledged 
that  even  the  doctrine  of  grace,  as  formulated  by  the 
Council  of  Trent,  though  neutralized  by  the  Confes¬ 
sional,  clearly  shows  Augustinian  influence. 

Thus  two  factors — Caesar  and  Augustine — have 
given  to  Roman  Catholicism  form  and  content  that 
have  made  it  different  in  its  genius  and  life  from 
Oriental  Orthodoxy. 

Ill 

To  understand  the  Roman  Catholic  way  of  salvation 
as  held  and  taught  at  present,  we  shall  have  to  consider 
the  nature  and  purpose  of  the  Church;  for  through 
it  alone  is  God’s  saving  work  accomplished  in  men. 
It  is  not  only  the  fundamental  dogma,  but  the  con¬ 
trolling  principle  of  all  dogmas,  of  worship,  and  of 
morality.  There  is  said  to  be  no  definition  of  the 
Church  by  way  of  solemn  judgment  (solemne 
judicium).  Yet  there  is  a  close  approach  to  it  in  the 
Dogmatic  Decrees  of  the  Council  of  Trent  ®  as  follows : 

The  eternal  Pastor  and  Bishop  of  our  souls,  in  order  to 
continue  for  all  time  the  life-giving  work  of  his  Redemption, 
determined  to  build  up  the  holy  Church,  wherein,  as  in  the 
house  of  the  living  God,  all  who  believe  might  be  united  in 
the  bond  of  one  faith  and  one  charity.  Wherefore,  before  he 
entered  into  his  glory,  he  prayed  unto  the  Father,  not  for 
the  Apostles  only,  but  for  those  also  who  through  their 

platonism;  4,  the  authority  of  the  Church.” — Kilpatrick  in  “Encyclo¬ 
pedia  of  Religion  and  Ethics,”  XI,  p.  707. 

®  Schaff’s  “Creeds  of  Christendom,”  II.  p.  256 — First  Dogmatic 
Constitution  on  the  Church  of  Christ. 


154 


CHRISTIAN  WAYS  OF  SALVATION 


preaching  should  come  to  believe  in  him,  that  all  might  be 
one  even  as  he  the  Son  and  the  Father  are  one.  As  then 
he  sent  the  Apostles  whom  he  had  chosen  to  himself  from 
the  world,  as  he  himself  had  been  sent  by  the  Father:  so 
he  willed  that  there  should  ever  be  pastors  and  teachers  in 
his  Church  to  the  end  of  the  world.  And  in  order  that  the 
Episcopate  also  might  be  one  and  undivided,  and  that  by 
means  of  a  closely  united  priesthood  the  multitude  of  the 
faithful  might  be  kept  secure  in  the  oneness  of  faith  and 
communion,  he  set  blessed  Peter  over  the  rest  of  the  Apos¬ 
tles,  and  fixed  in  him  the  abiding  principle  of  this  two¬ 
fold  unity,  and  its  visible  foundation,  in  the  strength  of 
which  the  everlasting  temple  should  arise,  and  the  Church 
in  the  firmness  of  that  faith  should  lift  her  majestic  front 
to  Heaven. 

In  this  decree  the  Church  is  symbolized  by  a  build¬ 
ing,  or  house,  of  which  Christ  is  the  builder;  and  its 
purpose  is  to  perpetuate  on  earth  his  saving  work. 
In  it  the  faithful  reside,  united  in  the  bond  of  one 
faith  and  one  love.  At  the  head  of  the  ministry,  the 
pastors  and  teachers,  is  the  blessed  Peter,  who  is  suc¬ 
ceeded  by  the  bishops  of  Rome,  the  vicars  of  Christ 
upon  earth. 

Bellarmine  defines  the  visible  marks  of  the  true 
Church  as:  (1)  profession  of  the  true  faith,  (2) 
communion  of  Sacraments,  (3)  submission  to  the  law¬ 
ful  Shepherd,  the  Roman  Pontiff.  From  another 
point  of  view  Mohler  describes  the  Church  as  ^The 
Son  of  God  constantly  renewing  and  rejuvenating 
Himself,  i.e.,  his  perpetual  incarnation.’^  In  this  view 
it  is  a  heavenly  mystery,  potent  with  divine  forces 
working  through  forms  of  time  and  space  for  the  salva¬ 
tion  and  the  sanctification  of  men.  In  the  words  of 
Philips,  a  Catholic  historian:  “The  clergy  is  the 
sanctifying,  teaching,  and  ruling  Church.  The  laity 


THE  ROMAN  CATHOLIC  WAY  155 

is  the  Church  to  be  sanctified,  to  be  taught,  to  be 
ruled.’’ 

From  these  statements  the  following  definition  of 
the  ecclesia  militans  may  be  framed:  The  visible 
community  of  believers  (i.e.,  those  who  have  the  bap¬ 
tism  and  accept  the  doctrine  of  the  Church),  in  which 
Christ’s  work  of  salvation  is  mediated  to  men  by  a 
divinely  ordained  hierarchy  with  the  Pope  at  its  head. 
The  unity  of  the  Church,  its  primary  attribute,  consists 
not  only  in  uniform  doctrine,  but  likewise  in  oneness  of 
government  and  worship.  The  distinction  between 
the  visible  and  the  invisible  Church  is,  therefore,  not 
tolerated;  for  such  division  would  destroy  the  essential 
unity  of  the  Church,  and  would  take  away  the  external 
guarantees  of  grace  and  truth  upon  which  the  Catholic 
Christian  depends.  ^‘Two  true  irreconcilable  Churches,” 
says  Canon  Vaughan,  ^^are  just  as  repugnant  as  two 
true  Gods.”  ® 

/ 

In  the  process  of  salvation  the  Church  has  three 
functions:  (1)  to  propagate  the  true  faith;  (2)  to 
mediate  and  impart  holiness  through  sacramental  and 
sacrificial  acts;  (3)  to  direct  and  control  the  faithful 
through  oversight  and  discipline.  These  three  corre¬ 
spond  to  the  prophetic,  the  priestly,  and  the  kingly 
prerogatives  of  the  ministry;  and  are  exercised  only 
by  the  priests  under  the  supervision  of  bishops,  who 
themselves  have  authority  only  from  the  Pope. 

IV 

The  functions  themselves  presuppose  certain  definite 
views  of  the  effect  of  sin  upon  man,  of  the  way  of 
justification,  of  faith,  and  of  Christian  piety. 

®Rt.  Rev.  Mgr.  Canon  John  Vaughan,  Tract,  ‘Ts  there  Salvation 
Outside  the  Church?”  p.  8. 


156 


CHRISTIAN  WAYS  OF  SALVATION 


Through  his  fall  man  brought  upon  himself  the 
‘Vrath  and  indignation  of  God,  and  consequently 
death”  ^  and  ‘^captivity  under  the  power  of  the  devil.” 
His  free  will,  however,  was  not  wholly  lost:  merely 
^^attenuated,”  and  by  ^^no  means  extinguished.”  ^ 
With  the  remnant  of  his  natural  freedom  and  knowl¬ 
edge,  assisted  by  prevenient  grace,  he  can  prepare 
himself  for  the  reception  of  the  truth  and  grace  of 
God.  These  he  gets  through  the  Church — the  truth 
through  Bible  and  dogma,  and  grace  through  sacra¬ 
ments.  Through  baptism  the  merit  of  Christ  is  made 
effective  and  the  baptized  receive  ^ffrue  and  Christian 
righteousness”  (justitia  originalis) .  The  pre-baptismal 
sins  are  forgiven;  but  the  recipient  remains  under 
law,  and  not  under  grace.^  Before  baptism  a  man  is 
under  either  the  law  of  nature  or  the  law  of  Moses. 
He  will  stand  or  fall  before  God  according  to  his 
obedience  or  disobedience.  Once  he  is  in  Christ 
through  baptism,  he  is  still  under  law;  but- it  is  now 
the  new  law  of  Christ,  variously  designated  by  the 
Council  of  Trent  as  lex  Christi,  lex  nova,  lex  fidei,  lex 
libertatis,  lex  gratiae,  lex  evangelica,  but  always  lex — 
law.  Christ  is  significantly  called  legislator,  the  law¬ 
giver.  The  contrast,  in  Roman  Catholicism,  is  not 
between  grace  and  works,  but  between  grace  and 
nature.  Man  is  in  a  state  of  nature  and,  of  course, 
under  law;  but  instead  of  passing,  after  baptism,  into 

^  Schaff’s  ‘‘Creeds  of  Christendom,”  II.  p.  84,  Decree  concerning 
Original  Sin. 

^  Idem,  II.  p.  89,  Decree  on  Justification. 

®  The  Christian  life  after  baptism  consists  in  fulfilling  the  new 
law  of  Christ  (/catt'os  vo/xos,  nova  lex).  Mohler  says:  “Through 
entrance  into  communion  with  Christ,  only  the  sins  committed 
before  baptisrn  are  forgiven,  not  the  coming  (those  after  baptism), 
in  the  supposition,  that  now  Christ  fulfils  the  law  in  us  and  we 
in  Him.”— “Symbolik,”  6.  A.,  p.  231. 


THE  ROMAN  CATHOLIC  WAY  157 

a  state  of  grace  out  of  the  state  of  law,  he  remains 
in  the  state  of  nature,  with  a  defective  reason  and 
will.  God  by  revelation  supplements  his  reason,  that 
he  may  obtain  saving  truth;  and  by  grace  strengthens 
his  will,  so  that  he  may  attain  saving  virtue.  Thus, 
by  cooperating  with  God  in  his  Church,  he  becomes 
righteous,  and  worthy  of  eternal  life. 

In  adults,  the  beginning  of  the  said  Justification  is  to  be 
derived  from  the  prevenient  grace  of  God,  through  Jesus 
Christ,  that  is  to  say,  from  his  vocation,  whereby,  without 
any  merits  existing  on  their  parts,  they  are  called;  that  so 
they,  who  by  sins  were  alienated  from  God,  may  be  dis¬ 
posed,  through  his  quickening  and  assisting  grace,  to  con¬ 
vert  themselves  to  their  own  justification,  by  freely  assent¬ 
ing  to  and  cooperating  with  that  said  grace.^® 

Justification  is,  therefore,  a  lifelong  process;  not  an 
act  of  God  {actus  forensis  seu  judicialis)  at  the  begin¬ 
ning  of  the  Christian  life,  followed  by  gradual  sancti¬ 
fication.  ^They,  through  the  observance  of  the  com¬ 
mandments  of  God  and  of  the  Church,  faith  codperat- 
ing  with  good  works,  increase  in  that  justice  which 
they  have  received  through  the  grace  of  Christ,  and 
are  still  further  justified.^^  Justification,  therefore, 
is  partly  of  divine  grace,  and  partly  of  man’s  works; 
in  other  words,  man  saves  himself  with  the  assistance 
of  truth  and  grace  offered  by  the  Church. 

The  relation  of  the  divine  and  the  human  factors 
in  justification  is  thus  defined  by  the  Council  of 
Trent: 

And,  for  this  cause,  life  eternal  is  to  be  proposed  to  those 
working  well  unto  the  end,  and  hoping  in  God,  both  as  a 

‘"Schaff’s  “Creeds  of  Cliristeridom,”  II.  p.  92,  Chap.  V. 

Idem,  p.  99.  .  .  . 

Idem,  pp.  107,  108,  Decree  on  Justification,  Chap.  XVU. 


158 


CHRISTIAN  WAYS  OF  SALVATION 


grace  mercifully  promised  to  the  sons  of  God  through  Jesus 
Christ,  and  as  a  reward  which  is  according  to  the  promise 
of  God  himself,  to  be  faithfully  rendered  to  their  good 
works  and  merits. 

For,  whereas  Jesus  Christ  himself  continually  infuses 
his  virtue  into  the  said  justified, — as  the  head  into  the 
members,  and  the  vine  into  the  branches, — and  this  virtue 
always  precedes  and  accompanies  and  follows  their  good 
works,  which  without  it  could  not  in  any  wise  be  pleasing 
and  meritorious  before  God, — we  must  believe  nothing 
further  is  wanting  to  the  justified,  to  prevent  their  being 
accounted  to  have,  by  those  very  works  which  have  been 
done  in  God,  fully  satisfied  the  divine  law  according  to 
the  state  of  this  life,  and  to  have  truly  merited  eternal  life, 
to  be  obtained  also  in  its  (due)  time,  if  so  be,  however, 
that  they  depart  in  grace:  .  .  .  Thus,  neither  is  our  own 
justice  established  as  our  own  as  from  ourselves;  nor  is  the 
justice  of  God  ignored  or  repudiated:  for  that  justice  which 
is  called  ours,  because  that  we  are  justified  from  its  being 
inherent  in  us,  that  same  is  (the  justice)  of  God,  because 
that  it  is  infused  into  us  of  God,  through  the  merit  of 
Christ. 

According  to  the  Evangelical  view  man’s  whole 
being  was  totally  corrupted  by  the  Fall,  and  he  is  in 
a  condition  of  helpless  and  hopeless  depravity.  He 
can  neither  know  nor  obey  God.  Salvation,  therefore, 
depends  wholly  upon  divine  grace.  Man  is  justified 
merely  of  grace  without  merit  of  his  own, — an  actus 
forensis  seu  judicialis.  This  is  followed  by  the  process 
of  sanctification  continuing  through  life.  In  opposi¬ 
tion  to  this  position,  the  Council  of  Trent  adopted  a 
Canon  as  follows: 

If  any  one  saith,  that  men  are  justified,  either  by  the  sole 
imputation  of  the  justice  of  Christ,  or  by  the  sole  remission 
of  sins,  to  the  exclusion  of  the  grace  and  the  charity  which 
is  poured  forth  in  their  hearts  by  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  is 


THE  ROMAN  CATHOLIC  WAY 


159 


inherent  in  them;  or  even  that  the  grace,  whereby  we  are 
justified,  is  only  the  favor  of  God:  let  him  be  anathemad^ 

Wherefore,  no  one  ought  to  flatter  himself  up  with  faith 
alone,  fancying  that  by  faith  alone  he  is  made  an  heir,  and 
will  obtain  the  inheritance.^^ 

Roman  Catholicism  freely  acknowledges  that  there 
is  no  assurance  of  the  certainty  of  salvation,  such  as 
the  assurance  in  which  the  Evangelicals  found  their 
chief  joy.  The  Decrees  of  Trent  are  specific  on  this 
point,  in  words  like  these : 

For  even  as  no  pious  person  ought  to  doubt  of  the  mercy 
of  God,  of  the  merit  of  Christ,  and  of  the  virtue  and  efficacy 
of  the  sacraments,  even  so  each  one,  when  he  regards  him¬ 
self,  and  his  own  weakness  and  indisposition,  may  have 
fear  and  apprehension  touching  his  own  grace;  seeing  that 
no  one  can  know  with  a  certainty  of  faith,  which  can  not 
be  subject  to  error,  that  he  has  obtained  the  grace  of  God.^^ 

Even  more  definitely  are  we  told  in  chapter  twelve 
of  the  same  Decree : 

For  except  by  special  revelation,  it  cannot  be  known 
whom  God  hath  chosen  unto  himself.^® 

The  whole  life,  then,  of  the  Christian  in  the  Church 
is  part  of  the  process  of  justification;  and  from  that 
point  of  view  the  various  functions  of  the  Church  and 
the  work  of  its  members  must  be  interpreted.  The 
Church  is  an  institution  of  salvation,  not  a  fellowship 
of  the  saved. 

We  are  distinctly  told  in  the  Decree  on  Justifica¬ 
tion  that  justification  is  not  only  the  remission  of 
sins,  ‘‘but  also  the  sanctification  and  renewal  of  the 

‘^Schaff’s  “Creeds  of  Christendom,”  II.  p,  113,  Decree  on  Justifica¬ 
tion,  Canon  XI. 

Idem,  p.  101,  Decree  on  Justification,  Chap.  XI. 

Idem,  pp.  98,  99,  Decree  on  Justification,  Chap.  IX. 

Idem,  p.  103,  Decree  on  Justification,  Chap.  XII. 

Idem,  p.  94,  Decree  on  Justification,  Chap.  VII. 


160 


CHRISTIAN  WAYS  OF  SALVATION 


inward  man,  through  the  voluntary  reception  of  the 
grace,  and  of  the  gifts,  whereby  man  of  unjust  be¬ 
comes  just,  and  of  an  enemy  a  friend,  that  so  he  may 
be  an  heir  according  to  hope  of  life  everlasting.’^  The 
causes  of  justification  are  defined  as  final,  efficient, 
meritorious,  and  instrumental ;  ‘The  instrumental  cause 
is  the  sacrament  of  baptism.” 

It  is  significant  that,  in  the  Decrees  of  Trent,  the 
Decree  on  Justification  is  followed  by  the  Decree  on 
the  Sacraments,  with  the  preparatory  statement:  “It 
hath  seemed  suitable  to  treat  of  the  most  holy  Sacra¬ 
ments  of  the  Church,  through  which  all  true  justice 
either  begins,  or  being  begun  is  increased,  or  being  lost 
is  repaired.”  Justifying  grace  is  imparted  by  baptism; 
if  lost,  it  is  repaired  by  penance,  and  is  increased  by 
confirmation,  the  eucharist,  and  the  other  sacraments, 
as  they  are  received  at  various  times  and  in  different 
circumstances.  Yet  the  sacraments  are  not  the  only 
means  of  grace;  for  those  in  process  of  justification 
are  nourished  and  strengthened  by  good  works  and 
:  prayers. 

Good  works  are  such  as  are  done  in  accordance  with 
the  commandments  of  God  and  the  commandments  of 
the  Church.  The  former  are  the  Decalogue.  The 
latter  are  not  so  clearly  defined;  many  of  the  popular 
catechisms,  however,  enumerate  five  principal  com¬ 
mandments,  as  follows:  (1)  Thou  shalt  keep  the 
appointed  church  festivals;  (2)  Thou  shalt  reverently 
hear  mass  on  all  Sundays  and  Festival  days;  (3)  Thou 
shalt  keep  the  forty-day  fast,  the  four  Ember  days 
(December  14,  September  21,  May  18,  February  16), 
and  abstain  from  meat  on  Friday  and  Saturday;  (4) 

”  Schaff’s  “Creeds  of  Christendom/’  II.  p.  95. 

Idem,  p.  116,  On  Justification,  Canon  XXVI. 


THE  ROMAN  CATHOLIC  WAY 


161 


Thou  shall  at  least  once  a  year  before  a  regularly 
ordained  priest  confess  your  sins  and  receive  the  sacra¬ 
ment  on  Easter;  (5)  Thou  shall  not  enter  into  wedlock 
on  forbidden  days. 

The  supreme  virtues,  however,  which  are  necessary 
for  sanctifying  grace,  are  faith,  hope  and  love.  They 
are  the  ^Mivine”  virtues;  because  they  concern  man’s 
relation  to  God,  and  are  begotten  in  men  by  his  grace 
only, — called  virtutes  injusce,  in  distinction  from 
virtutes  acquisitce,  which  may  be  acquired  by  patient 
continuance  in  well-doing,  even  by  the  natural  man.^^ 

For  the  attainment  of  Christian  perfection,  the  high¬ 
est  ideal  of  Christian  living,  the  monastic  life  is  most 
favorable,  yet  not  absolutely  necessary.  The  Council 
of  Trent  says:  ‘Tt  is  better  and  more  blessed  to  re¬ 
main  in  virginity  than  to  unite  in  matrimony.”  The 
advantage  is  with  the  celibate,  yet  the  higher  Chris¬ 
tian  life  is  not  denied  those  who'  live  in  the  relations 
of  the  social  order.  The  solitary,  however,  represents 
the  highest  type  of  the  religious  soul,  and  attains  to 
mystic  oneness  with  God. 

Prayer,  also,  is  regarded  as  a  means  of  grace  and  a 
good  work,  when  it  is  offered  with  good  intention.  It 
is  a  part  of  the  justifying  process.  The  intention,  not 
the  content  of  prayer,  determines  its  significance.  A 
Pater  noster  may  be  said  for  the  sick,  for  protection 
in  temptation,  for  the  prosperity  of  the  papacy  or  the 
advancement  of  the  Jesuit  Order.  The  times  and 
methods  of  the  prayers  are  not  dogmatically  fixed.  Yet 
there  are  certain  hours  for  laymen  and  priests  gener¬ 
ally  recognized,  and  the  keeping  of  them  is  declared 
to  be  praiseworthy.  The  Catechism  prescribes  five 
leading  forms  of  prayer:  (1)  Making  the  sign  of  the 

^‘'They  are  prudentia,  justitia,  temperantia,  jortitudo. 


162 


CHRISTIAN  WAYS  OF  SALVATION 


cross;  and  saying  or  thinking  the  words:  ^Tn  the 
name  of  our  Father  and  of  the  Son  and  of  the  Holy 
Ghost,  Amen’’;  (2)  Our  Father;  (3)  The  Ave  Maria; 
(4)  The  Angelus,  a  modified  and  enlarged  form  of  the 
Ave  Maria;  (5)  The  petition,  with  the  use  of  the  Holy 
Water,  ‘Hesus  cleanse  me  of  my  sins.”  The  clergy, 
of  course,  follow  the  prayers  prescribed  in  the  Breviary. 
Special  prayers  are  part  of  penance,  and  indulgences 
have  been  granted  for  certain  exercises  of  prayer.  Of 
more  significance,  however,  than  pi^ayer  and;  good 
works,  in  the  process  of  justification  and  the  develop¬ 
ment  of  the  Christian  life,  are  the  Sacraments.  They 
are  seven  in  number,  all  instituted  by  Christ,  and 
following  with  their  blessings  the  life  of  man  from  the 
cradle  to  the  grave, — righteousness  begins,  is  nurtured, 
and  repaired  by  them. 

Closely  related  to  the  Catholic  Sacraments  is  the 
conception  of  grace.  According  to  the  Protestant  view, 
grace  is  the  mercy  of  God  revealed  in  his  Son  to  for- 
.  give  the  sinner  and  restore  him  to  favor.  By  faith 
men  receive  the  divine  gift  once  for  all;  nothing  that 
men  may  do  or  say  or  become,  after  they  have  accepted 
the  grace  of  God  by  faith,  will  make  them  more 
righteous.  He  who  believes  has  everything  in  heaven 
1  and  upon  earth.  Luther  said:  “Wer  glaubt,  der 
!  hat.” 

The  Roman  Catholic  view  resolves  grace  into  a 
stream  of  spiritual  influences,  or  forces,  flowing  upon 
the  believer  from  the  transcendental  world.  The  in¬ 
carnation  was  the  beginning  of  these  celestial  currents 
coursing  through  human  nature,  and  they  continue  to 
flow  through  the  Sacraments  of  the  Church.  Grace  is 
thought  of  as  a  substance  rather  than  as  a  quality  of  a 
person.  This  conception  of  grace  is  not  in  harmony 


THE  ROMAN  CATHOLIC  WAY 


163 


with  the  Roman  Catholic  idea  of  God:  it  comes  far 
more  from  the  Greek  Catholic  idea  of  an  all-pervading 
spiritual  substance;  which  itself  is  traceable  to  the 
Greek  philosophy  and  the  oriental  mysteries.^^ 

The  Sacraments  confer  grace  ex  opere  operato,  i.e., 
through  the  act  performed;  the  efficacy  is  not  depend¬ 
ent  on  the  disposition  of  the  priest  or  of  the  re¬ 
cipient,  not  i.e.,  ex  opere  operantis,  not  the  act  of  him 
performing.  The  benefit  inheres  in  the  Sacrament  it¬ 
self  by  virtue  of  God’s  ordinance  or  presence.  Of 
course  it  must  be  administered  by  an  authorized 
minister  sacramenti,  and  with  the  intentio  faciendi 
quod  facit  ecclesia;  and  the  recipient  must  receive  it 
worthily  {digne  suscipere),  not  put  an  obstacle  in  the 
way,  but  permit  the  Sacrament  to  work  in  him.^^  In 
other  words,  the  recipient  must  be  in  a  state  of  grace, 
i.e.,  hav6  faith,  in  the  Roman  sense  of  the  word,  and 
be  free  from  pardonable  sin.  The  Sacraments  are 
declared  to  be  necessary  for  salvation  (ad  salutem 
necessaria) .  This  idea  of  the  efficacy  of  the  ordinances 
of  the  Church  comes  from  ancient  Catholicism.  The 
assumption  is,  that  when  the  directions  of  God  are 
passively  accepted,  at  least  without  contradiction,  they 
confer  and  effect  salvation  in  a  mysterious  way.  Sacra¬ 
mental  transactions  are  at  once  ^  ^physical  and  supra- 
rational  and  impersonal.” 

Baptism  is  the  sacrament  of  initiation.  Through  it 
the  recipient  is  brought  into  the  fellowship  of  the 

Kilpatrick,  speaking  of  the  idea  of  grace  in  the  ancient  Latin 
Catholic  Church,  says:  “This  is  conceived,  in  Greek  fashion,  as  a 
divine  substance  or  energy  coming  from  above  into  human  nature, 
and  working  there  as  omnipotence  in  the  sphere  of  things  finite.” 
“Encyclopedia  of  Religion  and  Ethics,”  XI.  p.  707. 

^^Schaff’s  “Creeds  of  Christendom,”  II.  p.  122,  Decree  on  the 
Sacraments,  Canon  XII. 

Idem,  II.  p.  120,  Canon  VI. 


164 


CHRISTIAN  WAYS  OF  SALVATION 


Church ;  he  is  translated  ^Trom  that  state  wherein  man 
is  born  a  child  of  the  first  Adam  to  the  state  of  grace, 
and  of  the  adoption  of  the  sons  of  God,  through  the 
second  Adam,  Jesus  Christ,  our  Savior.’^  Through 
baptism  the  ^^merit  of  Jesus  Christ  is  applied  both  to 
adults  and  to  infants’^;  the  ^‘guilt  of  original  sin  is 
taken  away’^  and  the  ^Vhole  of  that  which  has  the 
true  and  perfect  nature  of  sin/’  Not  only  is  sin 
remitted,  but  faith,  hope,  and  charity  are  infused  into 
the  heart;  ^Tor  faith,  unless  hope  and  charity  be  added 
thereto,  neither  unites  man  perfectly  with  Christ,  nor 
makes  him  a  living  member  of  his  body.”  Men  are 
^^bidden  immediately  on  being  born  again,  to  preserve 
it  (true  and  Christian  righteousness)  pure  and  spot¬ 
less,^®  as  the  first  robe  given  them  through  Christ  in 
lieu  of  that  which  Adam  by  his  disobedience  lost  for 
himself,  so  that  they  may  bear  it  before  the  judgment 
seat  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  and  may  have  eternal 
life.”  27 

Experience,  however,  proves  that  men  cannot  con¬ 
stantly  preserve  the  righteousness  received  in  baptism  ; 
and  for  these  God,  in  mercy,  has  bestowed  a  remedy, 
the  sacrament  of  Penance.  ^^This  sacrament  of  Pen¬ 
ance  is,  for  those  who  have  fallen  after  baptism,  neces¬ 
sary  unto  salvation;  as  baptism  itself  is  for  those  who 
have  not  as  yet  been  regenerated.”  It  is  called  a  ^^sec- 
ond  plank  after  shipwreck.”  By  means  of  it  the 

^  Schaff’s  “Creeds  of  Christendom/’  II.  p.  91,  On  Justification, 
Chap.  IV. 

^  Idem,  II.  p.  87,  On  Original  Sin,  5. 

“  In  the  ancient  church  “it  was  a  general  conviction  that  baptism 
effectually  cancelled  all  past  sins  of  the  baptized  person,  apart 
altogether  from  the  degree  of  moral  sensitiveness  on  his  own  part; 
he  rose  from  his  immersion  a  perfectly  pure  and  perfectly  holy 
man.” — Hamack,  “Expansion  of  Christianity,”  Eng.  trans.,  I.  p.  484. 

Schaff’s  “Creeds  of  Christendom,”  II.  pp.  96,  97,  Chap.  VII. 

^  Idem,  p.  143,  On  Penance,  Chap.  II. 


THE  ROMAN  CATHOLIC  WAY 


165 


grace  lost  after  baptism  can  be  restored.  The  acts  of 
the  penitent  are  contrition,  confession,  and  satisfac¬ 
tion.  These  are  followed  by  absolution  ‘Tor  all  cen¬ 
sures  and  sins,  in  the  name  of  the  Father  and  of  the 
Son  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost.”  This  is  not  simply  an 
announcement,  or  declaration,  but  has  the  authority 
of  a  “judicial  act  whereby  sentence  is  pronounced  by 
the  priest  as  by  a  judge.”  The  usual  satisfaction 
by  works  is  made  in  the  form  of  special  prayer  in  the 
church,  but  other  religious  acts  may  be  added,  such 
as  pilgrimages  or  special  communions  and  fasts.  Ab¬ 
solution  becomes  effective  only  after  penance  is  com¬ 
pleted.  A  great  part  of  the  energy  of  the  church  mem¬ 
ber  is  spent  in  penitential  discipline. 

The  principal  sacrament  of  nurture,  or  for  the  in¬ 
crease  of  righteousness  received  in  baptism,  is  the 
sacrament  of  the  Eucharist,  “than  which  the  Church 
has  nothing  more  worthy,  nothing  more  sacred,  noth¬ 
ing  more  wonderful.”  The  Eucharist  is  so  called  not 
merely  because  it  is  a  thanksgiving  in  memory  of 
Christ,  but  because  it  is  the  bearer  of  bona  gratia,  good 
grace,  “for  it  contains  in  it  Christ  who  is  true  grace 
and  fountain  of  all  charisms.” 

The  effect  of  the  sacrament  is  “remission  of  sins,” 
the  impartation  of  “spiritual  food  of  souls  whereby 
may  be  fed  and  strengthened  those  who  live  with  his 
life,”  “an  antidote  whereby  we  may  be  freed  from 
daily  faults  and  preserved  from  mortal  sins,”  and  “a 
pledge  of  our  glory  to  come  and  everlasting  happiness.” 
This,  with  the  Mass,  is  the  center  of  Catholic  worship, 
and  plays  the  most  important  part  in  the  piety  of  the 

“  Cone.  Trent,  Session  14,  On  Penance  and  Extreme  Unction, 
Chap.  VI.;  Schaff,  II.  p.  152. 

“’‘‘Rituale  Romaniim,”  4.  1.  Quoted  by  Muller,  “Symbolik,” 
p.  158. 


166 


CHRISTIAN  WAYS  OF  SALVATION 


Christian.  The  laity  are  required  to  commune  at  least 
once  a  year  on  Easter. 

The  Mass  was  instituted  by  Christ  as  ^The  new 
Passover  himself  to  be  immolated,  under  visible  signs 
by  the  Church  through  the  priests.”  The  ^^same  Christ 
is  contained  and  immolated  in  an  unbloody  manner 
who  once  offered  himself  in  a  bloody  manner  on  the 
altar  of  the  cross  .  .  .  This  sacrifice  is  truly  propitia¬ 
tory  .  .  .  The  Lord  is  appeased  by  the  oblation  there¬ 
of.”  It  has  efficacy  both  for  the  living  and  for  the 
dead.  It  is  chiefly  a  transaction  before  God  in  behalf 
of  the  people.  A  minister  himself  may  celebrate  Mass 
in  the  absence  of  the  people,  ^ffiot  for  himself  only  but 
for  all  the  faithful  who  belong  to  the  body  of  Christ.” 

The  priestly  and  sacrificial  character  of  Roman 
Catholic  worship  appears  clearly  in  the  Mass.  It  is 
appended  to  nearly  every  other  sacrament,  and  is  said 
in  behalf  of  individuals  and  congregations  in  the 
various  vicissitudes  and  crises  of  life.  It  is  repeated 
twice  every  Sunday;  and  all  Catholics  of  proper  age, 
even  children  (for  there  is  a  children’s  Mass),  are  re¬ 
quested  to  attend.  Rippel  says:  ^The  Holy  Mass  is 
our  only  and  distinctive  worship  (Gottesdienst)  ” 

While  the  priestly  functions,  with  the  sacrificial  and 
sacramental  elements,  are  primary  in  the  Catholic 
Church,  there  is  room  left,  also,  for  the  prophetic  and 
the  kingly  offices,  always,  of  course,  performed  by  the 
clergy.  The  Council  of  Trent  decreed  that  the  Scrip¬ 
tures  and  the  divine  law  are  to  be  preached  and 
taught  at  least  every  Sunday  and  on  all  high  festivals  ; 
daily,  or  at  least  three  times  a  week,  during  the  Lenten 

^  Cone.  Trent,  Doctrine  on  Sacrifice  of  the  Mass,  Chap.  11. ; 
Schaff,  n.  p.  179. 

"Loofs,  “Symbolik,”  p,  357,  note. 


THE  ROMAN  CATHOLIC  WAY 


167 


season  and  during  the  Advent  season.  The  children 
in  each  parish  are  carefully  instructed  in  the  funda¬ 
mental  articles  and  in  the  customs  and  usages  of  the 
Catholic  Church.  Missions  are  conducted  in  the 
churches  with  the  hope  of  winning  Protestants  to  the 
Catholic  faith;  the  preaching  ability  has  been  highly 
developed  in  these  latter  days. 

The  pastoral  and  disciplinary  functions  of  the 
Church  are  performed  mainly  through  the  confes¬ 
sional,  and  the  penitential  system.  Here  the  priest 
becomes  the  shepherd  of  souls.  Books  of  devotion  are 
given  to  the  people  to  direct  them  in  their  private 
meditations  and  for  special  occasions. 

It  remains  for  us  to  consider  the  part  of  faith  in  the 
process  of  justification.  The  Council  of  Trent  says: 
‘‘Faith  is  the  beginning  of  human  salvation,  the 
foundation  and  root  of  all  justification.’’  The 
Protestants  consider  it  not  only  the  beginning,  but  the 
end,  yea,  as  far  as  man  is  concerned,  the  whole,  of 
justification.  It  cannot  be  followed  by  any  thing 
greater  to  complete,  or  add  to,  its  efl&cacy.  Faith,  in 
the  Roman  Catholic  sense,  is  regarded  as  an  act,  be¬ 
ginning  man’s  salvation,  and  as  a  “supernatural  vir¬ 
tue”  whereby  “we  believe  that  the  things  which  He 
has  revealed  are  true.”  Believing  “assent,”  however, 
“to  the  gospel  teaching,  as  is  necessary  to  obtain  sal¬ 
vation,”  is  not  possible  “without  the  illumination  and 
inspiration  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  who  gives  to  all  men 
sweetness  in  assenting  to  and  believing  in  the  truth.” 
The  things  revealed  are  held  to  be  true,  not  because 
they  are  written  in  the  Scriptures,  or  approve  them¬ 
selves  in  Christian  experience,  but  because  they  ai‘e 

““Sixth  Session,  Chap.  Vlll.;  Schaff,  II,  p.  97. 

Vat.  Third  Session,  Chap.  3,  Schaff,  II.  p.  244. 


168 


CHRISTIAN  WAYS  OF  SALVATION 


proclaimed  by  the  Church.  ^‘Further,  all  those  things 
are  to  be  believed  with  divine  and  Catholic  faith  which 
are  contained  in  the  Word  of  God,  written  or  handed 
down,  and  which  the  Church,  either  by  solemn  judg¬ 
ment,  or  by  her  ordinary  and  universal  magisterium, 
proposes  for  belief  as  having  been  divinely  re¬ 
vealed.’’  Submission  to  the  doctrines  and  precepts 
of  the  Church  is  required,  even  to  the  extent  of  the  sac- 
nficium  intellectus,  sacrifice  of  the  intellect;  for  in 
Catholicism  one  must  believe,  not  simply  “may  be¬ 
lieve,”  and  must  render  obedience  of  faith,  fides  im- 
plicita,  which  is  nothing  less  than  an  unquestioned 
acceptance  of  the  teaching  of  the  Church.  ^^We  are 
bound  to  yield  to  God,  by  faith  in  his  revelation,  the 
full  obedience  of  our  intelligence  and  will.”  Neither 
the  reason  nor  the  conscience  of  the  individual  is  al¬ 
lowed  to  protest  against  the  dogmas  or  the  dictates  of 
the  Church.  For  the  Catholic  articles  of  faith  are  not 
convictions  developing  in  the  believer  from  a  central 
object  of  faith,  but  they  are  doctrinal  decrees  promul¬ 
gated  by  a  Council  or  by  the  Pope  with  the  authority 
of  divine  revelation  and  requiring  unconditional 
acceptance. 

The  Christian  is  warned  not  to  pry  too  deeply  into 
the  mysteries  of  the  Church.  The  Roman  Catechism 
says:  “What  is  propounded  in  symbol  must  not  be 
curiously  scrutinized,  but  with  simplicity  aflarmed. 
For  a  curious  investigation  of  the  truth  is  of  moderate 
faith.”  The  Catechism  of  the  Council  of  Trent 
says  on  this  point: 

From  what  has  been  said  it  follows  that  he  who  is  gifted 
with  this  heavenly  knowledge  of  faith,  is  free  from  an 

Vat.  Third  Session,  Chap.  3,  Schaff,  II.  p.  244. 

^  Idem,  p.  243. 

^Cat.  Rom.  I,  2,  3. 


THE  ROMAN  CATHOLIC  WAY 


169 


inquisitive  curiosity;  for  where  God  commands  us  to  be¬ 
lieve,  he  does  not  propose  us  to  search  into  his  divine  judg¬ 
ments,  or  inquire  into  their  reasons  and  causes;  but  de¬ 
mands  an  immutable  faith,  by  the  efficacy  of  which  the 
mind  reposes  in  the  knowledge  of  eternal  truth.  .  .  .  Faith, 
therefore,  excludes  not  only  all  doubt,  but  even  the  desire 
of  subjecting  its  truths  to  demonstration.^^ 

The  effect  of  faith  is  to  bring  the  believer,  not  into 
personal  fellowship  with  God  in  Christ,  but  into  proper 
relation  with  the  Church,  which  mediates  between  God 
and  man.  ^Tor  faith,  unless  hope  and  charity  be 
added  thereto,  neither  unites  a  man  perfectly  with 
Christ,  nor  makes  him  a  living  member  of  his  body.” 
By  faith  a  man  simply  puts  himself  under  the  care  of 
the  Church;  and  under  her  directions  and  by  her  aid 
he  saves  himself.  Hence  faith  is  said  to  be  ^The  be¬ 
ginning  of  human  salvation,”  humance  salutis  initium. 
Schleiermacher  said:  ‘The  Roman  Catholic  Church 
makes  the  relation  of  the  individual  to  Christ  depend 
on  his  relation  to  the  Church;  the  Protestant  makes 
his  relation  to  the  Church  depend  on  his  relation  to 
Christ.” 

Faith  is  not  only  a  subjective  act,  that  by  which  we 
believe;  but  also  an  objective  fact,  that  which  is  be¬ 
lieved.  In  the  decree  of  the  Vatican  Council  on  the 
Catholic  Faith,  third  session,  “The  Church”  is  said  to 
have  received  a  charge  to  guard  “the  deposit  of  faith” 
{fidei  depositum).  This  contains  what  the  Christian  is 
to  believe,  which  in  briefest  form  is  the  Triune  God. 
In  its  amplified  form  it  is  the  Nicene  Creed,  “wherein 
all  who  profess  the  faith  of  Christ  necessarily  agree  as 
that  firm  and  only  foundation  against  which  the  gates 
of  hell  shall  not  prevail.” 

^  Cat.  Cone.  Trent,  Part  I.  Art.  I.  4.  Translation  by  J.  Donovan. 

^“Conc.  Trent,  VI.  Chap.  VII.;  Schaff,  II.  p.  96. 


170 


CHRISTIAN  WAYS  OF  SALVATION 


Faith  in  the  Triune  God  is  hindered,  and  at  times 
harmed,  by  the  secondary  objects  of  faith,  the  Virgin, 
the  saints,  and  relics.  These  are  not,  indeed,  essential 
elements  of  Catholicism,  yet  through  ages  of  custom 
they  have  become  inseparably  interwoven  with  popu¬ 
lar  piety.  With  the  decline  of  that  vital  faith  which 
approves  itself  by  ethical  living,  in  place  of  the  living 
God  revealed  in  Christ  men  substituted  creatures  of 
human  imagination  and  tried  to  obtain  divine  blessings 
by  magical  ways.  What  cannot  be  obtained  by  direct 
petition,  it  is  hoped  may  be  reached  by  mediation  of 
the  Virgin  and  the  saints. 

The  Council  of  Trent,  session  twenty- five,  teaches: 
^That  the  saints  who  reign  together  with  Christ,  offer 
up  their  own  prayers  to  God  for  men;  that  it  is  good 
and  useful  suppliantly  to  invoke  them,  and  to  have 
recourse  to  their  prayers  and  help  for  obtaining  bene¬ 
fits  from  God  through  his  Son  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord.” 
The  invocation  of  saints  is  not  commanded,  but  rec¬ 
ommended.  The  distinction,  also,  between  invocation 
and  adoration-^the  one  due  to  God  alone,  the  other  to 
the  saints — is  made;  but  in  spite  of  it  the  people  are 
prone  to  fall  into  practical  polytheism,  failing  to  grasp 
the  refined  distinction  made  in  the  dogmatic  decrees 
of  the  Church. 

V 

This  rapid  survey  of  the  function  of  the  Church  and 
the  faith  of  the  Christian,  in  the  process  of  salvation, 
confirms  the  statement  made  in  the  beginning  of  this 
chapter,  that  “the  Roman  Catholic  Church  is  the 
visible  community  through  which  the  work  of  Christas 
salvation  is  mediated  to  men.”  The  Church  is  in 
Christ’s  stead  among  men,  and  continues  in  institu- 


THE  ROMAN  CATHOLIC  WAY  171 

lional  forms  the  redemptive  effects  of  the  incar¬ 
nation. 

In  the  words  of  Harnack : 

The  Roman  Church  is  the  most  comprehensive  and  the 
vastest,  the  most  complicated  and  yet  at  the  same  time  the 
most  uniform  structure  which,  so  far  as  we  know,  history 
has  produced.  All  the  powers  of  the  human  mind  and  soul, 
and  all  the  elemental  forces  at  mankind’s  disposal,  have 
had  a  hand  in  creating  it. 

It  looms  up  before  us  as  a  majestic  institution  with 
the  sanctions  of  age  and  universality,  and  claims  of 
divine  origin  and  authority.  AU  humanity  has  been 
put  under  tribute  in  its  growth  and  progress.  Hebra¬ 
ism,  Judaism,  Messianism,  Orientalism,  Hellenism, 
Romanism,  vulgar  paganism,  philosophy,  mysticism, 
politics,  art,  morals,  rehgion, — all  these  blend  in  the 
most  perfectly  organized  religious  institution  upon 
earth. 

We  cannot  all  too  lightly  dispose  of  its  claims,  its 
past  history,  or  its  future  program.  How  massive  are 
its  buildings!  how  wide  its  scope  and  reach,  including 
time  and  eternity!  Its  claims  are  unparalleled.  Its 
works  of  love  are  stupendous.  Its  art,  theology,  phi¬ 
losophy,  its  universities,  cathedrals,  and  monasteries, 
its  popes,  cardinals,  bishops,  abbots,  priests,  and 
monks,  fascinate  the  human  imagination.  Its  mis¬ 
sionaries  have  followed  the  flag  into  the  remotest 
regions  of  the  earth.  Its  monks  and  priests  have  been 
vanguards  in  civilizing  and  educating  savage  and  bar¬ 
barian.  We  bow  reverently  before  its  heroes  and  saints, 
— Augustine,  Bernard,  Francis,  Thomas,  Dante,  Vin¬ 
cent  de  Paul,  Francis  Xavier,  Bossuet,  Fenelon,  Henry 
Newman.  These  are  the  varied  product  of  Roman 


172 


CHRISTIAN  WAYS  OF  SALVATION 


Catholicism.  No  wonder  this  institution  makes  pow¬ 
erful  appeal  to  men.  It  must  be  met,  not  with  sneers 
or  denunciations,  but  with  an  ideal  of  life  greater,  a 
way  of  salvation  truer,  than  that  which  it  proposes. 

In  its  appeal  to  the  will,  through  the  demand  for 
good  works  as  a  necessary  part  of  salvation,  and  in  the 
penitential  system,  it  develops  a  type  of  personal  piety 
and  Christian  manhood  far  in  advance  of  Oriental 
Orthodoxy.  The  Roman  Church  demands  from  the  in¬ 
dividual  renunciation  of  the  world,  and  commands 
cooperation  of  the  individual  with  the  Church  for  the 
conquest  of  the  world.  Its  vision  of  a  City  of  God  to 
be  wrought  out  upon  earth  under  the  control  of  the 
Vicar  of  Christ  sets  before  the  Christian  a  task  that 
delivers  him  from  the  mystic  and  passive  piety  of  the 
Orthodox  Catholic  who  has  in  view  nought  but  de¬ 
liverance  from  the  world  and  a  blissful  immortality  in 
heaven. 

Yet,  after  we  have  magnified  the  Roman  Catholic 
Church  and  by  comparison  have  shown  its  superiority 
to  the  Catholicism  of  the  Orient,  we  must  still  pause 
to  ask  whether  or  not  its  conception  of  salvation  is 
true  to  Christ  and  to  the  deepest  needs  of  the  human 
soul.  This  question  is  answered  by  Professor  Hamack 
in  a  single  paragraph : 

What  modifications  has  the  gospel  undergone,  and  how 
much  of  it  is  left?  Well — ^this  is  not  a  matter  that  needs 
many  words — ^the  whole  outward  and  visible  institution  of 
a  Church  claiming  divine  dignity  has  no  foundation  what¬ 
ever  in  the  gospel.  It  is  a  case,  not  of  distortion,  but  of 
total  perversion.  .  .  .  The  gospel  says,  “Christ’s  kingdom  is 
not  of  this  world,”  but  the  Church  has  set  up  an  earthly 
kingdom;  Christ  demands  that  his  ministers  shall  not  rule 
but  serve,  but  here  the  priests  govern  the  world;  Christ 
leads  his  disciples  away  from  political  and  ceremonious 


THE  ROMAN  CATHOLIC  WAY 


173 


religion  and  places  every  man  face  to  face  with  God — God 
and  the  soul,  the  soul  and  its  God,  but  here,  on  the  con¬ 
trary,  man  is  bound  to  an  earthly  institution  with  chains 
that  cannot  be  broken,  and  he  must  obey;  it  is  only  when 
he  obeys  that  he  approaches  God.  There  was  a  time  when 
Roman  Christians  shed  their  blood  because  they  refused  to 
do  worship  to  Caesar,  and  rejected  religion  of  the  political 
kind;  to-day  they  do  not,  indeed,  actually  pray  to  an 
earthly  ruler,  but  they  have  subjected  their  souls  to  the 
despotic  orders  of  the  Roman  papal  King.^^ 

There  is  an  intolerable  dualism  in  Roman  Catholi¬ 
cism,  the  necessary  result  of  its  conception  of  God  and 
the  way  of  salvation.  The  tension  between  the  Church 
and  the  State,  the  spiritual  and  the  secular  power,  the 
monarchial  claims  of  the  papacy  and  the  spirit  of 
nationalism,  was  bound  sooner  or  later  to  reach  the 
breaking  point  and  end  in  rupture.  The  rivalry  be¬ 
tween  the  regular  clergy,  archbishops,  bishops  and 
priests,  on  the  one  hand,  and  the  extraordinary  min¬ 
istry  of  papal  legates  and  monks,  invading  diocese  and 
parish  of  bishop  and  priest,  on  the  other  hand,  bred 
bitterness  and  strife,  and  undermined  hierarchical 
authority  as  a  whole. 

The  opposition  between  the  dogmatic  decrees  of  the 
Church  and  the  awakening  human  reason,  between 
priestly  authority  and  personal  freedom,  naturally 
ended  in  an  irrepressible  conflict.  There  was  also  a 
palpable  contradiction  in  life  and  morality.  Strict 
obedience  was  demanded,  and  yet  moral  laxity  was 
winked  at;  world  flight  was  the  supreme  ideal  of  the 
individual,  world  conquest  of  the  institution;  severe 
penance  was  exacted  and  liberal  indulgence  granted. 
The  Church  claimed  to  represent  God  on  earth  and  to 
be  the  bearer  of  divine  grace,  yet  she  could  not  calm 

‘‘“Harnack,  “What  is  Christianity?”  Eng.  trans.,  pp.  262-263. 


174 


CHRISTIAN  WAYS  OF  SALVATION 


the  restless  soul  nor  comfort  the  troubled  spirit.  The 
institution  of  salvation  could  not  give  assurance  of 
salvation.^  Men  worked  as  servants  to  merit  redemp¬ 
tion,  instead  of  rejoicing  as  sons  in  their  salvation. 
They  spent  their  energy  in  trying  to  save  themselves 
with  the  aid  of  the  means  provided  by  the  Church. 
They  did  good  works  to  obtain  grace,  and  they  re¬ 
ceived  grace  to  do  good  works;  yet  they  were  never 
sure  of  having  done  enough  works  to  obtain  sufficient 
grace,  or  of  having  sufficient  grace  to  do  good  works 
and  merit  justification.  This  was  the  intolerable  un¬ 
certainty  which  distressed  the  Wittenberg  Monk,  and 
which  sent  him  in  search  of  a  more  excellent  way,  the 
way  of  Paul,  justification  by  grace  through  iaith  alone. 

The  ultimate  source  of  Catholicism  is  its  idea  of  God, 
which  is  not  true  to  the  God  revealed  by  Jesus  and 
beheld  by  Paul.  On  that  account  the  Catholic  way 
of  salvation,  whether  Greek  or  Roman,  never  quite 
satisfied  the  demands  of  the  New  Testament  or  of  the 
human  heart.  Long  time  was  required  before  the 
occasion  could  arise  for  the  appearance  of  a  great 
prophet,  gripped  by  a  vision  of  God  in  Christ,  who 
would  experience  a  new  way  of  salvation,  protest 
against  the  Church  of  the  ages,  and  become  the  founder 
of  a  new  church  with  a  new  way  of  salvation — salva¬ 
tion  by  grace,  which  was  never  clearly  understood  in 
the  ancient  or  the  medieval  Church.  In  a  broad  sense 
there  are  but  two  conceptions  of  salvation.  The  one  is 
by  ecstasy,  the  rising  to  mystic  communion  with  the 
Absolute;  the  other  by  faith,  a  reconciliation  of  man 
with  the  personal  God,  resulting  in  a  life  of  ethical 
harmony  with  him.  Catholicism  failed  to  grasp  the 
significance  of  free  grace,  and  never  could  sing  the 
stanza  which  is  so  true  to  the  evangelical  mood: 


THE  ROMAN  CATHOLIC  WAY 


175 


Just  as  I  am  without  one  plea, 

But  that  thy  blood  was  shed  for  me 
And  that  thou  bidst  me  come  to  thee 
0  Lamb  of  God,  I  come,  I  come. 


Nor  could  the  Roman  Catholic  appreciate  the  ethical 
principle  enunciated  by  the  great  Apostle, — that  we, 
must  become  what,  by  the  grace  of  ,God,  we  are.  In¬ 
stead,  he  made  the  vain  effort  to  become  by  human 
effort  and  with  divine  aid  what  he  ought  to  be.  The 
one  way  is  altruistic,  Pauline,  Christlike;  the  other  is 
egoistic,  humanistic,  Roman. 


When  Luther  announced  the  glad  tidings  that  w^ 
are  saved  by  grace,  the  basal  pillars  of  Catholicism, 
the  dogmatic  decrees,  the  sacramental  system,  the 
penitential  discipline — all  under  the  control  of  the 
hierarchy — were  shaken  and  shattered.  For  when  men 
are  justified  by  grace,  they  need  no  mediating  priest¬ 
hood,  no  infusion  of  sacramental  grace,  no  works  of 
penance,  no  infallible  dogma.  They  have  the  testi¬ 
mony  of  the  Spirit,  and,  as  a  community  of  the  saved, 
they  are  prophets,  priests,  and  kings,  who  have  direct 
access  to  God  in  Christ  through  his  word,  and  live  in 
the  freedom  of  faith,  in  the  service  of  love,  and  in  the 
patience  of  hope. 


CHAPTER  VTIl 


THE  EVANGELICAL  WAYS 


Luther — The  Lutheran  Way 

The  Evangelical  ways  were  an  answer  to  deeply 
felt  needs  of  the  soul  which  Catholicism  could  not 
satisfy.  Protestantism  originated  not  in  a  reform  of 
doctrine,  of  government,  or  of  morals,  but  in  a  quest 
for  salvation.  It  was  the  result  of  a  new  experience 
of  righteousness  before  God,  a  new  answer  to  the  ques¬ 
tion,  How  can  a  man  become  just  before  God?  This 
is  the  old  and  ever  new  problem  which  man  must 
always  face;  and  until  he  has  answered  it,  he  cannot 
be  at  peace  with  himself  or  with  his  God.  Paoli  Sarpi, 
in  his  ‘‘History  of  the  Council  of  Trent,’’  fully  under¬ 
stood  the  issue  when  he  wrote: 

All  the  errors  of  Martin  were  resolved  in  that  point — 
justification:  for  this  denies  the  efficacy  of  the  sacraments, 
the  authority  of  the  priests,  purgatory,  the  sacrifice  of  the 
mass,  and  all  other  remedies  for  the  remission  of  sins. 
Therefore  he  that  will  establish  the  body  of  Catholic  doc¬ 
trine  must  first  overthrow  this  heresy  of  justification  by 
faith  alone.^ 

When  Professor  Philip  Schaff,  a  brilliant  young 
privat  docent  at  the  University  of  Berlin,  was  elected 
(1844)  to  the  chair  of  church  history  in  the  Theological 
Seminary  of  the  Reformed  Church  in  the  United  States, 

WoUmer,  ‘The  Reformation  a  Liberating  Force,”  p.  39. 

176 


THE  EVANGELICAL  WAYS 


177 


then  located  at  Mercersburg,  Pennsylvania,  he  pene¬ 
trated  to  the  real  issue  between  Evangelical  Chris¬ 
tianity  on  the  one  hand,  and  Romanism  and  rational¬ 
ism  on  the  other,  when  he  chose  for  his  inaugural  ad¬ 
dress,  ‘‘Das  Princip  des  Protestantismus.”  This  he 
defined  as  justification  by  grace  through  faith. 

I 

Catholicism  with  its  almost  infinite  variety — its 
dogmas,  worship,  government,  piety;  its  ofiicials,  sac¬ 
raments,  penitential  discipline;  its  priests,  monks,  lay¬ 
men — is  rooted  in  a  distinctive  idea  of  God,  with  a 
corresponding  conception  of  salvation.  Its  theology 
and  soteriology  pervade  and  control  every  major  and 
minor  part  of  that  complex  institution.  For  centuries 
the  leading  spirits  of  the  Roman  Church  felt  the  need 
of  reform,  acknowledging  that  there  were  serious 
wrongs  “in  head  and  members.’’  But  all  reformatory 
efforts  failed,  because  they  did  not  go  to  the  root  of 
the  trouble.  They  proposed  reforms  in  government 
and  discipline,  in  morals  and  life,  in  theology  and  law ; 
but  the  ills  were  not  cured.  It  was  like  cutting  off  a 
branch  here  and  a  branch  there,  always  leaving  intact 
the  stem  and  taproot,  out  of  which  the  branches  grew. 
Gasquet,  a  Catholic  historian,  says: 

The  most  zealous  sons  of  the  Church  never  hesitated  to 
attack  this  or  that  abuse  and  to  point  out  this  or  that  spot, 
desiring  to  make  the  edifice  of  God’s  Church,  as  they  under¬ 
stood  it,  more  solid,  more  useful  and  more  like  Christ’s 
ideal.  Before  1517  or  1521  no  one  at  this  period  ever 
dreamed  of  wishing  to  change  the  basis  of  the  Christian  re¬ 
ligion,  as  it  was  then  understood.^ 

*“Eve  of  the  Reformation,”  p,  7. 


178 


CHRISTIAN  WAYS  OF  SALVATION 


II 

The  first  to  venture  upon  a  ‘'change  of  basis”  was 
Martin  Luther.  He  became  reformer,  not  intentionally 
but  irresistibly,  when  he  had  found  a  new  way  of 
righteousness.  This  he  discovered  in  the  light  of  a  new 
vision  of  God.  Out  of  the  vision  came  a  new  theology 
and  a  new  soteriology  which  could  not  be  reconciled 
with  the  old.  Luther  was,  therefore,  not  chiefly  a 
philosopher,  a  theologian,  or  a  moral  hero,  but  some¬ 
thing  far  greater, — a  prophet  to  whom  God  revealed 
himself  in  his  Son  Jesus  Christ.  This  was  the  be¬ 
ginning  of  a  new  fellowship  with  God.  The  Reforma¬ 
tion,  accordingly,  was  not  primarily  an  intellectual, 
a  moral,  or  a  political  movement,  but  a  religious  move¬ 
ment,  which  had  to  do  with  the  souFs  relation  to  God. 

But  in  the  vision  and  experience  of  Luther  there  was 
the  dynamic  of  a  new  order  of  life.  When  he  found 
what  to  him  appeared  a  new  God,  he  became  a  new 
man;  and  in  time  he  was  driven  by  inward  necessity, 
as  much  as  by  papal  and  imperial  ban,  to  organize  a 
new  church.  Yea  more,  in  his  experience  were  latent 
the  elemental  forces  of  a  new  world,  with  its  own 
civilization  and  culture.  The  new  church  required  a 
new  worship,  a  new  government,  a  new  piety,  and, 
partly  at  least,  a  new  doctrine.  In  the  new  state  were 
the  principles  of  a  new  home,  a  new  social  order,  a  new 
government,  a  new  school,  a  new  art,  a  new  form  of 
recreation  and  play.  All  these  things  were  in  the 
evangelical  experience,  as  the  oak  is  in  the  acorn;  but 
even  now,  four  centuries  later,  they  have  not  all  been 
realized.  If  one,  however,  were  to  put  one’s  finger 
upon  the  heart  out  of  which  are  the  issues  of  life  of 
the  modern  age  in  its  unity  and  in  its  diversity,  one 


THE  EVANGELICAL  WAYS 


179- 


would  have  to  place  it  on  the  experience  that  is  de¬ 
clared  in  the  doctrine,  ^The  just  shall  live  by  faith.” 

Protestantism  may,  with  show  of  reason,  be  charged 
with  the  sin  of  division;  for  there  are  many  churches 
and  they  have  not  always  been  friendly  towards  one 
another.  Now,  more  than  ever,  men  deplore  the  loss 
of  collective  action  on  the  part  of  the  evangelical 
groups.  Yet  w^e  must  not  forget  that,  with  aU  its  divi¬ 
sions,  there  is  a  unity  in  Protestantism  which  makes 
the  churches  kin,  and  differentiates  them  from  Ro¬ 
manism  and  rationalism.  The  bond  of  fellowship  is 
the  common  experience  of  salvation  by  grace,  the  car¬ 
dinal  principle  of  Evangelical  Christianity.  Upon  this 
basis  there  is  a  community  of  spirit  in  Protestant 
Churches,  becoming  ever  more  visible  and  tangible, 
which  we  should  never  be  ready  to  surrender  even  in 
the  interest  of  the  efficiency  that  is  supposed  to  come 
through  institutional  uniformity. 

We  shall  consider  the  evangelical  way  of  salvation 
first  as  an  experience,  and  then  as  a  doctrine  and  an 
institution;  for  before  it  was  embodied  in  a  church,  it 
was  spirit  and  life  in  a  person. 

It  must  be  conceded,  even  if  grudgingly  and  of 
necessity,  by  Protestants  generally,  that  the  classic 
experience  of  evangelical  salvation  is  to  be  found  in 
the  life  of  Martin  Luther.  This  concession  need  not 
in  any  way  detract  from  the  glory  of  Zwingli  and  of 
Calvin,  who  were  the  founders  of  a  second  type  of 
Protestantism,  called  Reformed  in  distinction  from 
the  Lutheran.®  A  study  of  these  two  types  will  suffice 

“Rudolf  Staehelin,  who  has  written  the  standard  biography  of 
Zwingli,  says:  ‘‘The  time  is  past  when  it  is  a  matter  of  honor  even 
with  the  members  of  the  Reformed  Church  to  put  Zwingli  above 
Luther  or  on  a  par  with  him,  whether  one  considers  his  priority 
or  his  significance  in  the  founding  of  the  evangelical  faith  and 


180 


CHRISTIAN  WAYS  OF  SALVATION 


to  make  clear  the  evangelical  idea  of  salvation,  which 
needs  to  be  differentiated  also  from  the  way  of  the 
Catholics  and  of  the  Humanists. 

Luther  began  his  religious  struggle  not  by  criticizing 
the  dogmas,  the  government,  or  the  morality  of  his 
Church.  He  was  one  of  her  most  devoted  and  loyal 
sons,  and  had  no  thought  of  creating  a  serious  disturb¬ 
ance  through  his  Ninety-five  Theses.  For  he  felt 
convinced  that  the  Pope  needed  only  be  informed  about 
the  abuse  of  indulgences  promptly  to  rectify  them. 
Then  all  would  be  well  again.  He  never  dreamed  that 
he  was  kindling  so  great  a  flame  with  so  small  a  spark. 

His  concern  was  wholly  with  a  personal  and  religious 
question, — ^his  relation  to  his  God.  In  1535  he  formu¬ 
lated  it,  in  his  inimitable  way  and  in  the  colloquial 
German  of  his  time,  as  follows :  0  wenn  vnlltu  einmal 
jromm  werden  und  genug  thun,  das  du  einen  gnddigen 
Gott  kriegestf  (0  when  will  you  become  pious,  and  do 
enough  that  you  may  get  a  gracious  God?)  ^  This 
was  the  starting-point  of  the  Reformation.  All  the 
issues  of  Catholicism  were  involved  in  that  question; 
to  answer  it  the  Cathohc  Church  had  originated  and 
worked  for  a  thousand  years.  The  first  implication  is, 
that  God  is  not  gracious  and  man  is  not  just;  the  sec¬ 
ond,  that  man  must  make  God  gracious  by  making 
himself  just.  To  accomplish  this  task,  which  men  have 


church.  And  rightly  so.  Martin  Luther  remains,  both  on  account 
of  his  reformatory  work  and  of  his  spiritual  equipment,  the  Re¬ 
former  of  the  evangelical  church.”  On  the  following  page,  Staehelin 
adds  these  words:  “It  is  different  when  the  further  development 
of  the  evangelical  church  in  doctrine,  cultus,  and  polity,  the  definite 
and  practical  formulation  of  evangelical  ideas,  is  taken  into  con¬ 
sideration.  At  this  point  the  pastor  of  Zurich  appears  not  as  the 
serving  assistant,  but  as  the  independent  coworker  and  colleague, 
of  the  Wittenberg  Doctor.” 

"EA.*  19,  152. 


THE  EVANGELICAL  WAYS  181 

tried  in  vain  since  the  world  began,  Luther  entered  the 
monastery. 

Here  he  engaged  in  a  prolonged  struggle  with  him¬ 
self,  his  sins,  and  his  God ;  in  reality  with  the  religion 
of  his  Church.  He  had  recourse  to  Schoolmen — Occam, 
Biel;  to  mystics — St.  Bernard  and  Tauler;  to  Augus¬ 
tine  and  the  Scriptures.  He  tried  all  the  devices 
offered  by  his  Church  to  solve  his  problem, — the 
monastery,  the  priesthood,  the  confessional,  prayer, 
self-mortification,  a  pilgrimage  to  Rome;  but  he 
found  no  peace.  In  the  words  of  Paul  he  voiced  his 
own  despair:  ^Wretched  man  that  I  am!  who  shall 
deliver  me  out  of  the  body  of  this  death  Light 
flashed  through  the  darkness  when  he  saw  that  the 
phrase  justitia  dei  (righteousness  of  God)  in  Romans 
1 : 17,  was  not  the  justitia  qua  deus  justus  est  et  pecca- 
tores  injustosque  punit,  but  that  qua  nos  deus  miseri- 
cors  justificat  per  fidem.^  Luther  thus  discovered  that 
man  cannot  make  himself  righteous  and,  therefore, 
God  gracious;  but  that  God  is  gracious  and,  therefore, 
makes  man  righteous.  With  that  discovery  he  had  an 
evangel,  good  news;  and,  ceasing  to  be  at  heart  a 
Catholic  priest,  he  became  an  evangelical  prophet. 
Then  was  Evangelical  Christianity  born  in  the  soul 
of  Luther,  afterward  to  be  embodied  in  the  Lutheran 
Church.  All  else  had  to  follow  in  due  time;  and,  when 
the  occasion  arose,  Catholicism  had  to  be  relinquished, 
and  Protestantism  had  to  be  established.  In  principle 
he  had  already  outlived  his  Church,  but  only  through 
a  bitter  conflict  were  the  implications  of  his  experi¬ 
ence  put  into  doctrines  and  institutions. 

®The  righteousness  by  which  God  is  just  and  punishes  un¬ 
righteous  sinners,  but  that  by  which  a  merciful  God  justifies  us 
through  faith.  EA.  Lat.  32,  22;  Tischreden,  EA.  58,  413. 


182 


CHRISTIAN  WAYS  OF  SALVATION 


We  have  already  said  that  Catholicism  is  based  upon 
a  distinctive  conception  of  God.  Luther  ceased  to  be 
a  Catholic,  and  became  both  a  Protestant  and  an 
evangelical,  because  he  changed  his  view  of  God.®  In 
childhood  and  early  manhood  he  had  thought  of  him 
as  an  implacable  Judge  who  punishes  the  guilty.  He 
felt  that  no  one  could  satisfy  him,  so  as  to  escape 
punishment  and  win  favor.  Christ  ceased,  in  Luther’s 
eyes,  to  be  the  mediator  of  grace  and  pardon,  and  was 
only  the  dispenser  of  penalties.  ^T  did  not  believe  in 
Christ,”  he  once  said,  ^^but  regarded  him  as  a  stern 
and  terrible  judge,  as  he  appeared  in  paintings  sitting 
on  a  rainbow.  .  .  .  When  I  beheld  him  upon  the 
cross,  he  appeared  to  me  like  a  flash  of  lightning; 
when  his  name  was  mentioned,  I  would  rather  have 
heard  the  Devil’s  name  pronounced;  I  shrank  back  in 
terror  when  I  saw  his  picture,  closed  my  eyes  and 
would  rather  have  seen  the  Devil’s.”  ^  In  his  maturer 
years  Luther  found,  in  the  writings  of  Occam,  the  idea 
that  God  is  arbitrary  will  and  arbitrarily  determines 
the  conditions  of  salvation.  God  promised  to  consider 
certain  acts  of  man  as  meritorious;  and  if  a  man  per¬ 
formed  them  he  would  obtain  God’s  favor,  which  is 
assured  and  sealed  by  the  sacraments.  An  arbitrarj^ 
Deity  like  this  Luther  could  not  trust;  he  feared  and 
even  abhorred  him. 

Luther  found  rest  when  he  rediscovered  God  in 

®So  far  as  the  doctrine  of  God  and  Christ  was  concerned,  as  this 
was  contained  in  the  ecumenical  creeds,  there  was  no  difference 
between  the  Catholics  and  the  Evangelicals.  Yet  the  formal  dogma 
about  God  is  one  thing,  and  the  way  men  think  about  God  in 
their  daily  fellowship  with  him  is  quite  another  thing.  Whatever 
may  have  been  the  Catholic  dogma,  Luther  grew  up  under  a  con¬ 
ception  of  God  wholly  different  from  that  which  he  discovered 
later  in  the  New  Testament. 

^Kostlin,  I.  pp.  54-55. 


THE  EVANGELICAL  WAYS 


183 


Christ, — the  God  of  grace  who  is  ready  to  forgive  freely 
without  merits  and  works.®  In  God’s  grace  alone  he 
trusted  for  salvation;  ^Tor  where  there  is  remission  of 
sins,  there  are  also  righteousness  and  salvation.”  ®  His 
despair  turned  into  hope,  his  fear  into  courage,  his 
doubt  of  himself  into  faith  in  his  God. 

From  now  on  he  had  a  new  way  of  access  to  God. 
Hitherto  he  labored  under  the  impression  that  by 
sufficient  penance  and  by  good  resolutions  he  could 
make  himself  fit  for  the  necessary  sacramental  grace, 
and  by  ascetic  works  could  obtain  assurance  that  he 
had  received  sufficient  grace.  Thus  salvation  was 
partly  by  grace  and  partly  by  works,  i.  e.,  by  coopera¬ 
tion  between  the  divine  and  the  human  will.  This 
compromise  may  satisfy  the  average  man;  for  he  need 
not  depend  upon  himself  altogether,  since  grace  will 
assist  him;  nor  need  he  rely  on  grace  only,  since  it  be¬ 
comes  operative  only  on  condition  of  good  works.  To 
Luther,  however,  the  compromise  became  intolerable: 
it  brought  him  to  the  brink  of  despair.  For  at  one  time 
he  was  not  sure  of  having  enough  good  works  to  merit 
grace,  and  at  another  time  he  was  not  sure  of  having 
enough  grace  to  do  good  works.  At  this  point  his  break 
with  his  Church  began.  He  not  only  could  not  find 
assurance  of  salvation,  but  dared  not  even  hope  for 
salvation.  He  wavered  and  hesitated  between  works 
and  grace  until  he  found  a  firm  foundation  in  Christ 
and  him  crucified,^^ — a  new  way  of  justification  taken 
from  the  Scriptures,  especially  the  writings  of  Paul. 

*  “Gratia,  sine  mentis  et  operibus.” 

"  Luther,  “The  Small  Catechism.” 

Luther  in  1515,  in  opposition  to  Occam  and  Biel,  denied  the 
idea  of  merit,  and  especially  the  scholastic  theory  of  self-prepara¬ 
tion  of  man  for  the  infusion  of  grace.  See  Tschachert,  “Entstehung 
der  Lutherischen  und  Reformirten  Kirchenlehre,”  p.  38. 


184  CHRISTIAN  WAYS  OF  SALVATION 

''Only  through  the  blood  of  Christ/'  he  said,  "will  man 
be  delivered  from  anxiety  and  distress.  If  he  behold 
this  in  faith,  he  will  know  that  his  sins  are  washed 
away  by  him ;  and  through  faith  he  becomes  pure  and 
secure."  In  Christ  and  the  cross  he  found  both  the 
way  and  the  assurance  of  salvation. 

With  his  new  conception  of  God  came  a  new  idea 
of  grace.  Grace  is  no  longer  thought  of  as  something 
that  can  be  infused  into  the  soul  through  sacramental 
means, — gratia  injusa, — a  stream  of  spiritual  forces 
flowing  into  the  believer  from  the  transcendental 
world.  It  is  the  mercy  of  God,  made  known  through 
Christ,  freely  forgiving  the  sinner  without  merit  or 
works.  To  be  saved  by  grace,  therefore,  is  not  to  re¬ 
ceive  a  substance  which  transforms  the  sinful  nature 
of  man,  but  to  enter  upon  good  terms  with  God,  freed 
from  his  wrath  and  enjoying  his  favor.  The  believer 
still  has  sin  in  his  nature,  but,  now  that  he  is  under 
grace,  sin  is  no  longer  imputed  to  him.  Therefore 
he  can  utter  the  paradox:  Simul  sum  peccator  et 
Justus  — "I  am  at  the  same  time  sinner  and 
ifighteous." 

f  The  idea  of  faith,  likewise,  is  changed.  Faith  is 
trust  in  God's  grace  in  Christ;  fiducia,  not  assensus; 
not  mere  acceptance  of  historic  statements.  It  is  man's 
response  to  God  when  He  approaches  him  through  his 
Son, — a  divine  effect  wrought  in  the  soul,  not  a  product 
of  man's  will.  Faith  lays  hold  of  the  living  Christ  and 
of  his  righteousness  in  such  a  way  that  the  believer 
no  longer  lives,  but  Christ  lives  in  him,  making  him 
potentially,  though  not  yet  actually,  righteous. 
"Through  faith  a  man's  ,attitude  to  God  is  at  once 

“  Rinn  und  Jiingst,  ^‘Dcgmengeschichtliches  Lesebuch,”  pp.  340-341. 

^  Moeller-Kawerau,  K.  G.  III.  p.  9. 


THE  EVANGELICAL  WAYS 


185 


changed;  he  who  was  hitherto  turned  away  from  God 
is  now  turned  toward  God,  is  freed  from  guilt,  and  is  ^ 
the  object  of  divine  pleasure/^  Faith  includes  as¬ 
sent  to  facts ;  but  if  it  is  only  the  holding  as  true  what 
the  Church  or  the  Bible  teaches,  it  is  far  removed  from 
evangelical  faith,  which  is  childlike  trust  in,  and  uncon¬ 
ditional  surrender  to,  the  grace  revealed  in  Jesus  Christ. 
To  use  Luther’s  oft-quoted  words:  ^‘Faith  is  a  divine 
work  in  us,  which  changes  us  and  begets  us  anew  from 
God,  and  kills  the  old  Adam  and  makes  us  wholly 
different  men.  .  .  .  Oh!  it  is  a  living,  active,  working, 
mighty  thing — this  faith;  so  that  is  impossible  that 
it  should  not  without  ceasing  work  good.” 

The  decisive  issue  between  Catholicism  and  Prot¬ 
estantism  is  the  conception  of  justification  {justifica- 
tio),  which  involves  the  whole  idea  of  the  way  of 
salvation.  The  difference  between  the  two  conceptions 
is,  that  the  former  resolves  justification  into  a  process 
and  identifies  it  with  sanctification,  while  the  latter 
makes  it  an  act, — an  actus  Dei  forensis, — followed  by 
sanctification  as  a  process.  In  the  Catholic  view  man 
is  not  declared  just  before  he  is  just;  and  he  becomes 
just  gradually,  by  grace  and  good  works.  It  may  be 
said  that  man  makes  himself  righteous  with  the  aid 
of  sacramental  grace,  without  which  no  one  can  save 
himself.  Salvation  is,  accordingly,  a  joint  product  of 
divine  grace  and  of  the  will  of  the  regenerate  man 
cooperating  with  the  divine  will  in  the  attainment  of 
righteousness. 

According  to  Luther,  who  came  under  the  infiuence 
of  Augustine,  sin,  i.  e.,  concupiscence,^®  is  forgiven  in 

“Oehler,  “Symbolik,”  §  145. 

M“Vorrede  auf  die  Epistel  S.  Pauli  an  die  Romer  (1522),”  EA., 
XVII.  pp.  239-252. 

“  Concupiscentia — carnal  self-seeking,  which  continues  to  work 


y 

186  CHRISTIAN  WAYS  OF  SALVATION 

baptism;  not  blotted  out,  but  no  longer  imputed.  In 
justifying  a  man  God  delivers  him  from  the  guilt  and 
punishment  of  sin,  but  not  from  sin  itself.  On  this 
account,  neither  before  nor  after  baptism  can  a  man 
be  saved  by  his  own  efforts.  ‘Tree  will,”  says  Luther, 
“that  is  not  under  grace,  has  in  no  way  ability  to  attain 
righteousness  for  itself.  It  is  unconditionally  in  sin.” 
Man  is  saved,  therefore,  by  ^ace  only,  and  grace  is 
made  effectual  by  God  alone.  Since  salvation  is  wholly 
a  work  of  God,  man’s  destiny  depends  on  God  and  not 
on  the  will  of  man.  This  is  the  tap-root  of  the  doc¬ 
trine  of  predestination,  which  was  held,  though  with 
a  difference  of  emphasis,  by  both  Luther  and  Calvin. 

In  the  evangelical  sense,  justification  is  to  enter 
upon  good  terms  with  God;  not  to  have  one’s  nature 
changed  in  an  incomprehensible  way,  or  to  be  free  from 
sin,  but  to  be  released  from  God’s  wrath,  and  to  live 
in  the  enjoyment  of  his  favor.  In  a  larger  view,  “it 
is  peace  and  freedom  in  God  through  Christ,  dominion 
over  the  world  and  an  eternity  within.”  “For  a  man,” 
says  Luther,  “is  not  regarded  as  righteous  before  God 
because  he  is  righteous,  but  because  he  is  considered 
as  righteous  by  God.”  Again,  “Only  through  the  im¬ 
putation  of  a  merciful  God,  by  virtue  of  faith  in  his 
word,  are  we  righteous.”  Also,  “The  saints  are  in¬ 
wardly  always  sinners;  therefore  they  are  outwardly 
always  justified.  .  .  .  Therefore  we  are  outwardly 
righteous,  not  on  account  of  ourselves,  not  for  our 
works,  but  wholly  through  the  imputation  of  God.” 
The  Augsburg  Confession  (Article  20),  also,  makes  the 
important  distinction  between  righteousness  in  its  re¬ 
in  the  baptized  and  in  the  devout,  and  requires  non-imputation  on 
God’s  part. 

^®Rinn  und  Jiingst,  p.  341. 

Idem,  p.  337. 


I 


\ 

THE  EVANGELICAL  WAYS  187 

ligious  sense  and  in  its  “civil  and  philosophical”  sense. 
The  former  can  be  understood  only  when  men  have 
passed  through  “the  conflict  of  a  troubled  conscience,” 
and  have  found  peace  in  the  grace  of  God.^^ 

The  fact,  however,  that  the>  justified  are  incapable 
of  doing  works  of  merit  does  not  relieve  them  from 
living  lives  of  truth  and  righteousness.  While  sin  re¬ 
mains  after  baptism  and  is  no  longer  imputed  by  God, 
the  Christian  must  fight  against  it  and  seek  to  over¬ 
come  it.  Luther  felt  that  the  experience  of  justifica¬ 
tion  as  naturally  brings  forth  righteous  living  as  the 
bush  blossoms  into  the  rose.  Faith  spontaneously  pro¬ 
duces  good  works.  A  man  is  not  saved  by  character, 
but  character  is  a  necessary  outcome  of  salvation.  In 
other  words,  “good  works  do  not  make  a  good  man,” 
but  “a  good  man  does  good  works.”  “We  must  always 
pray  and  work,”  writes  Luther,  “that  grace  and  spirit 
may  increase,  that  the  old  body  of  sin  decline  and  be 
abolished.  Because  he  has  not  concluded  our  righteous¬ 
ness  and  made  us  perfect  saints,  but  only  made  a  be¬ 
ginning,  so  as  to  complete  all.”  The  Small  Catechism 
says:  Jesus  Christ  “has  redeemed  me  ...  in  order 
that  I  might  be  his,  live  under  him  in  his  kingdom, 
and  serve  him  in  everlasting  righteousness  and 
blessedness.” 


III 

Several  consequences  naturally  flow  from  Luther’s 
doctrine  of  justification.  The  bearer  of  the  power  of 
salvation  is  not  an  institution  of  salvation  interposed 

Rinn  and  Jiingst,  p.  339.  See  also  Smalcald  Articles,  III.  No.  13. 

Idem,  p.  339. 

**  “When  one  after  having  faith  and  the  Spirit  sins,  he  never 
really  had  the  Spirit  and  faith.” — Luther. 


188 


CHRISTIAN  WAYS  OF  SALVATION 


between  God  and  the  soul.  It  is  the  brotherhood  of 
the  saved,  the  congregation  of  believers  with  the  word 
of  God  and  the  Spirit  of  God.^^  ‘‘The  Church  is  the 
congregation  of  saints  (the  assembly  of  all  believers), 
in  which  the  Gospel  is  rightly  taught  (purely  preached) 
and  the  Sacraments  rightly  administered.’’  Gone  is 
the  hierarchy,  when  the  believer  is  prophet,  priest,  and 
king,  and  has  free  access  to  God;  gone  is  the  sacra¬ 
mental  system  with  its  fragments  of  grace,  when  the 
grace  of  God  in  Christ  Jesus  forgives  the  sinner  and 
makes  him  a  saint;  gone  is  the  penitential  discipline, 
when  works  of  merit  are  superseded  by  the  merits  of 
Jesus  Christ;  gone  are  the  dogmatic  decrees  of  councils 
or  dictates  of  Popes,  when  men  have  free  access  to  the 
word  of  God  and  the  testimony  of  the  Holy  Spirit; 
gone  are  monks  and  nuns,  when  the  counsels  of  per¬ 
fection  are  fulfilled  in  the  service  of  love  in  all  the  rela¬ 
tions  of  the  social  order. 

The  primary  function  of  the  Church  is  to  proclaim 
the  gospel,  which  begets  faith  in  the  sinner  and  con¬ 
firms  faith  in  the  saint.  In  the  words  of  the  Augsburg 
Confession,  the  glorified  Christ  “sanctifies  those  that 
believe  in  him,  by  sending  the  Holy  Spirit  into  their 
hearts,  who  shall  rule  (sanctify,  purify,  strengthen), 
comfort,  and  quicken  them,  and  shall  defend  them 
against  the  devil  and  the  power  of  sin.”  In  the 
Apology,^^  the  Church  is  called  the  body  of  Christ; 
because  “Christ  by  his  Spirit  renews,  sanctifies  and 
governs.”  The  power  of  the  Church  is  the  word  of 
God,  which  is  to  be  preached  with  praise,  thanksgiv¬ 
ing,  and  supplication.  There  is  no  more  fasting,  celi- 

“  The  holiness  of  the  Church  ‘‘consists  in  the  Word  of  God 
and  true  faith.”  Smalcald  Articles,  XII, 

“Aug.  Conf.  VII. 

“Articles  7  and  8. 


THE  EVANGELICAL  WAYS 


189 


bacy,  pilgrimages,  holy  water;  nothing  but  preaching, 
praying,  and  practicing.  Through  these  saving  faith 
is  to  be  spread,  and  the  world  won  for  Christ, — not  by 
might,  nor  by  power,  but  by  his  Spirit. 

Luther  also  introduced  a  new  motive  for  worship. 
The  Catholic  worships  in  order  to  be  saved ;  the  Evan- 
gehcal,  because  he  is  saved.  The  one  is  like  a  servant 
seeking  wages,  the  other  is  like  a  son  rejoicing  in  an 
inheritance.  The  difference  appears  in  mood,  in 
material,  and  in  method,  of  worship. 

The  life  of  faith  is  wrought  out  in  the  service  of 
love,  which  is  itself  a  part  of  worship, — prayer  and 
preaching  put  into  practice.  The  Christian  is  master 
of  all  and  servant  of  none,  through  faith ;  he  is  servant 
of  all  and  master  of  none,  through  love.  ^The  highest 
art,^^  says  Luther,  ‘The  noblest  life,  and  the  holiest  con¬ 
duct  is  the  practice  of  love  for  God  and  one’s  neighbor.” 
In  answer  to  the  question,  “What  is  it  to  serve  God 
and  to  do  his  will?”  he  says:  “Nothing  else  than  to 
show  mercy  to  our  neighbor  who  needs  our  service. 
God  in  heaven  does  not  need  it.”  At  another  time  he 
said:  “I  will  give  myself  as  a  sort  of  Christ  to  my 
neighbor,  as  Christ  gave  himself  to  me;  and  I  will  do 
nothing  in  this  life  except  what  I  see  will  be  needful, 
advantageous,  and  wholesome  for  my  neighbor.” 
Men  are  to  abide  in  their  social  relations;  and  in  the 
performance  of  social  duties  in  a  Christian  way  are  to  ( 
develop  Christian  virtues  in  themselves  and  to  pro¬ 
mote  the  Christian  life  in  others.  Social  service  is  both 
benevolence  and  worship.  Monastic  withdrawal  from 
the  world  is  in  principle  denied,  for  it  has  no  value  in 
the  way  of  saving  merit,  nor  for  the  development  of 

^Hall,  “Christian  Ethics,”  p.  495. 

“  “Servire  vocatione.” 


190  CHRISTIAN  WAYS  OF  SALVATION 

the  ideal  Christian  life.  The  counsels  of  perfection 
are  fulfilled  when  one  lives  the  natural  life  in  a 
Christian  way. 

Again,  as  in  worship,  so  in  work  the  motive  is  dis¬ 
interested  love.  Men  live  or  work  in  society,  not  to  be 
saved,  but  because  they  are  saved;  not  as  servants, 
but  as  sons.  Here  is  the  joy  of  the  Christian  life; 
because  all  the  energies  of  the  Christian  man  are  freed 
that  he  may  spend  them,  not  for  his  own  salvation, 
but  for  the  salvation  and  common  good  of  others. 

What  is  to  be  the  attitude  of  the  saved  toward  the 
world?  The  world  is  the  work  of  God,  and  the  love  of 
God  protects  me  from  the  evils  in  the  world.  The 
world  is  my  servant,  not  my  master,  nor  my  enemy. 
The  Christian  is  lord  of  the  world.  He  is  to  use  and 
to  develop  its  resources  in  the  interest  of  his  ethical 
purposes.  The  believer,  sure  that  all  things  work  to¬ 
gether  for  his  good,  does  not  permit  himself  to  be  dis¬ 
turbed  by  the  limitations  that  the  world  puts  upon  him, 
or  by  the  suffering  that  may  come  through  the  world. 
Even  in  the  face  of  death  he  is  more  than  conqueror 
through  him  that  loves  us,  and  triumphs  in  the  as¬ 
surance  of  eternal  life. 

Powerfully  influenced  by  these  ideas,  which  are 
legitimate  inferences  from  his  own  doctrine  of  justifi¬ 
cation,  Luther  first  criticized  and  tried  to  cure  this  or 
that  defect  in  the  Catholic  Church,  and  then  was  driven 
to  renounce  it  as  a  whole.  He  differed  from  it  in  prin¬ 
ciple,  and,  therefore,  was  compelled,  if  true  to  his 
ideals,  to  work  out  a  new  view  of  the  world  and  of 
life, — the  view  that  distinguishes  the  Modern  Age 
from  the  Medieval.  He  simplified  faith,  worship,  and 
piety.  He  unified  regeneration  and  justification,  the 
believer  and  God  in  Christ,  the  spiritual  and  the  nat- 


THE  EVANGELICAL  WAYS 


191  ' 


ural,  the  religious  and  the  ethical: — ^perhaps  the  most 
marvelous  simplification  and  unification  in  the  history 
of  religion. 

IV 

Luther  the  theologian  was,  however,  not  so  great 
as  Luther  the  prophet.  To  do  justice  to  his  contribu¬ 
tion  to  modern  Christianity,  one  must  draw  this  dis¬ 
tinction.  As  a  prophet  he  ranks  with  the  Apostles  and 
Fathers:  few  were  his  superiors  in  the  history  of  the 
Church.  But  his  theology  was  not  the  necessary  out¬ 
come  and  expression  of  his  religious  experience.  This 
is  clearly  evident  in  his  later  life,  as  well  as  in  the 
Church  of  which  he  is  the  leader.  He  came  to  identify 
the  word  of  God  with  the  letter  of  the  Bible,  and  failed 
to  distinguish  the  gospel  which  the  Scriptures  contain 
from  the  Bible  as  a  whole.  He  saw  clearly  that  the 
essence  of  the  gospel  was  not  a  fund  of  ecclesiastical 
traditions,  a  body  of  dogmas,  or  the  contents  of  a  col¬ 
lection  of  books,  but  the  free  grace  of  God  in  Christ. 
He  distinguished  the  Old  Testament  from  the  New, 
and  even  recognized  the  relative  value  of  the  New 
Testament  books.^®  Yet,  when  occasion  required,  he 
stood  flat-footed  and  immovable  upon  the  letter  of  the 
Scriptures.  He  was  the  prophet,  when,  at  Worms,  he 
defied  the  Pope  and  Emperor,  saying:  ‘^Unless  I  am 
refuted  and  convicted  by  testimonies  of  the  Scriptures 
or  by  clear  arguments, — I  am  conquered  by  the  Holy 
Scriptures  quoted  by  me,  and  my  conscience  is  bound 
in  the  word  of  God ;  I  cannot  and  will  not  recant  any¬ 
thing,  since  it  is  unsafe  and  dangerous  to  do  anything 

*’He  gave  Hebrews,  James,  Jude,  and  Revelation  a  secondary 
rank  in  the  New  Testament  Canon. — Tschackert,  ^‘Entstehiing  der 
Luth.  und  Ref.  Kirchenlehre,”  p.  320. 


192 


CHRISTIAN  WAYS  OF  SALVATION 


against  the  conscience/'  At  Marburg  the  tables  were 
turned.  He  was  now  the  scribe,  when  he  faced  Zwingli 
and  without  argument  pointed  to  the  words  written^on 
the  table  before  him,  Hoc  est  corpus  mewn  (this  is  my 
body).  Thus  in  substance  Luther  announced  at  Mar¬ 
burg  that  Christian  fellowship  was  conditioned  by 
agreement  on  doctrinal  definitions,  rather  than  by 
common  experience  of  justification  by  the  free  grace 
of  God  through  faith. 

He  also  reverted  toward  the  Catholic  conception 
of  sacramental  grace,  from  which  his  conception  of 
justification  by  grace  should  have  delivered  him.  With 
all  his  emphasis  on  the  word  in  the  sacrament,  he 
could  not  escape  the  idea  of  sacramental  grace  different 
from  the  grace  in  the  word.  He  did  say  that  ^The  sac¬ 
raments  without  the  word  are  not  able  to  do  anything, 
but  the  word  without  the  sacraments  is.  If  necessary 
one  can  be  saved  without  the  sacraments,  but  not  with¬ 
out  the  word.”  But  he  also  discerned  the  Lord's 
body  in,  with,  and  under  the  elements  of  bread  and 
wine,  which  had  a  mystical  effect  upon  the  communi¬ 
cant  ;  and  this  at  once  implies  a  distinct  kind  of  sacra¬ 
mental  grace,  a  certain  efficacy  in  the  material  elements 
{dingliche  Wirkung),  Sacramental  grace  is  spoken  of 
(  as  a  “treasure”  which  “the  Church  possesses”  and  “dis¬ 
tributes.”  Thus  he  restored  into  Protestantism  a 
theory  of  sacramental  efficacy  leaning  towards  Cathol¬ 
icism,  and  not  reconcilable  with  the  evangelical  con- 
‘  ception  of  grace  which  he  expounded  in  his  earlier 
writings.  He  made  faith  in  Christ,  which  was  for  him 
the  essence  of  Christianity,  identical  with  faith  in  a 
mystery  which  was  contrary  not  only  to  reason  but 
to  the  principles  of  the  gospel  of  which  he  himself  was 

"McGiffert,  “Protestant  Thought  before  Kant,”  p.  40,  note. 


THE  EVANGELICAL  WAYS 


193 


the  chief  exponent.  In  this  respect  he  modified  the 
whole  Protestant  system  and  retarded  its  consistent 
development. 

Luther,  like  the  Schoolmen,  resolved  the  gospel  into 

a  system  of  doctrine,  revealed  in  the  Scriptures  and 

handed  down  to  the  Church  for  safe-keeping  and  for 

instruction.  In  their  view  doctrine  preceded  life. 

Luther  said:  ^‘Denn  Gott  ist  nicht  pzo  (so)  viel  gelegen 

am  leben  als  an  der  Lere.  .  .  .  Denn  eyn  Loses  leben 

ist  nyrgent  pzo  schedlich  als  Lose  lere.”  (For  God  is 

not  so  much  concerned  about  life  as  about  doctrine. 

\ 

.  .  .  For  an  evil  life  is  nowhere  so  harmful  as  evil  doc¬ 
trine.)  Here  he  was  in  full  accord  with  Thomas 
Aquinas,  with  the  difference  that  he  tested  the  Church 
by  the  Bible  and  St.  Thomas  tested  the  Bible  by  the 
Church.  Both  submitted  to  an  external  authority 
having  divine  sanctions. 

In  the  same  spirit  he  accepted  the  Ecumenical  Creeds 
as  brief  compends  of  biblical  truth  necessary  for  salva¬ 
tion.  He  revitalized  them  by  relating  them  to  his  doc¬ 
trine  of  salvation.  ‘‘No  theologian  after  Athanasius,” 
says  Harnack,  “made  the  deity  of  Jesus  so  vital  as 
Luther.  No  teacher  since  Cyril  found  so  much  com¬ 
fort  in  the  union  of  the  two  natures  as  Luther.”  In 
one  of  his  table-talks  Luther  said : 

I  have  learned  apart  from  Scriptures  amidst  the  greatest 
agony  and  temptation,  that  Christ  is  God  and  that  he 
became  flesh,^nd  in  like  manner  I  have  learned  the  truth 
of  the  article  concerning  the  Trinity.  .  .  .  For  in  the  greatest 

^  In  fairness  to  Luther  this  passage  should  be  read  with  another 
in  his  Table-Talk,  where  he  says:  “Theology  consists  in  use  and 
practice,  not  in  speculating  and  reasoning  about  the  things  of 
God  ...  In  short,  each  art  (Kunst)  in  domestic  and  world  af¬ 
fairs  which  busies  itself  only  with  speculating  and  does  not  bear 
fruit  in  works  is  lost  and  profits  nothing.” — Erlang.  Edit.,  IX.  p.  182. 


194  CHRISTIAN  WAYS  OF  SALVATION 

temptation  nothing  is  able  to  help  us,  except  our  belief  that 
the  Son  of  God  became  flesh  and  bone,  and  sits  at  the  right 
hand  of  the  Father  and  intercedes  for  us.  There  is  no  more 
powerful  consolation  than  this. 

Luther  failed,  however,  to  see  that  the  Greek  dogma 
of  God  and  Christ  was  rooted  in  a  conception  of  sal¬ 
vation  wholly  different  from  his  own;  expressed  in 
terms,  also,  which  are  strange  and  incomprehensible  to 
the  modern  mind.  The  God  whom  Luther  discovered 
and  who  saved  him  was  jar  more  adorable,  lovely,  be¬ 
lievable,  hope-inspiring,  and  comforting  than  the  God 
of  ancient  dogma.  Evangelical  Christianity  requires 
a  theology  and  a  christology  that  correspond  to  its  ex¬ 
perience  of  grace  as  manifested  by  God  in  Christ;  em¬ 
bodied,  besides,  in  the  language  of  our  own  age.  The 
new  life  which  pulsated  in  the  churches  of  the  Reforma¬ 
tion  ^Tequired  a  wholly  new  theology  to  match  it,  but 
to  the  production  of  such  a  theology  the  Protestant 
Church  was  for  the  time  unequal.^^  That  may  have 
been  more  difficult  than  revitalizing  an  old  dogma  with 
a  new  experience,  but  the  Church  cannot  be  at  rest 
doctrinally  until  the  new  faith  has  been  embodied  in 
terms  that  are  true  to  its  contents. 

Luther,  further,  betrayed  his  scholastic  tendencies 
when  he  persisted  in  his  speculations  about  the 
ubiquity  of  Christ's  humanity.  Thus  he  was  led  far 
afield  from  the  realm  of  experimental  religious  truth 
into  the  realm  of  metaphysical  ideas, — a  realm  that  be¬ 
longs  to  the  philosopher,  rather  than  to  the  believer. 
‘The  melancholy  consequence  was  that  Lutheranism 
received  at  once  in  christology  the  most  fully  developed 
scholastic  doctrine  ever  received  by  an  ecclesiastical 
community.  Owing  to  this,  Lutheranism  was  for 

Denney,  “Christian  Doctrine  of  Reconciliation,’^  p.  92. 


THE  EVANGELICAL  WAYS  195 

almost  two  hundred  years  thrown  back  into  the  middle 
ages.” 

Luther  failed  to  distinguish  gospel  from  theology. 
The  two  were  fused  into  one,  so  that  both  were  made 
necessary  to  salvation.  ‘‘All  and  everything  must  be 
believed,  or  nothing,”  said  Luther.  Of  course  his  ex¬ 
perience  here  again  could  not  be  squared  with  his 
theory.  Faith,  in  one  sense,  was  trust  in  the  grace  of 
God;  in  the  other  sense,  compliant  acceptance  of  a 
body  of  doctrine  which  either  is  incapable  of  being 
immediately  experienced  or  is  in  conflict  with  the  hu¬ 
man  reason.  The  religious  life  is  made  to  depend  upon 
something  that  cannot  become  an  object  of  personal 
experience.  This  is  the  essence  of  scholasticism,  and 
the  cause  of  untold  oppression  and  grievous  burdening 
of  the  conscience.  Thus,  what  Luther  fought  in  one 
form,  he  founded  again  in  another  form, — the  tyranny 
of  ecclesiastical  authority.^^ 

After  all  this  is  said,  it  cannot  be  too  often  repeated 
that  the  demand  for  the  distinction  between  theology 
and  gospel  does  not  imply  indifference  to  doctrine. 
Hamack  reminds  us  that  it  would  be  far  better  to  have 
the  old  dogma  than  no  doctrine  at  all.  Such  an  indif¬ 
ference  leads  inevitably  to  Catholicism  and  is  hostile 
to  Evangelical  Christianity.  “Everything  depends 
upon  the  right  doctrines  of  God  as  the  Father  of  Jesus 
Christ,  and  of  the  old  and  new  man” ;  but  “evangelical 
faith  knows  only  of  ‘doctrines'  which  are  at  the  same 
time  dispositions  and  deeds.” 

^Harnack,  “History  of  Dogma/’  Eng.  trans.,  VII.  p.  243. 

^’^See  especially  Harnack,  “What  is  Christianity?”  Eng.  trans.,  pp. 
291-294,  a  clear  and  sane  criticism  of  the  defects  in  Luther’s  doc¬ 
trine:  also,  at  greater  length,  his  “History  of  Dogma,”  Eng.  trans., 
VII.  pp.  239-266. 


CHAPTER  IX 
THE  EVANGELICAL  WAYS 


Zwingli  and  Calvin — The  Reformed  Way 

I 

When  Luther  parted  from  Zwingli  at  Marburg 
(1529),  he  said:  ‘‘You  have  a  different  spirit  from  us” 
(alium  spiritum  habetis).  They  had  come  to  an  agree¬ 
ment  on  so  many  points  that  their  irreconcilable 
difference  on  one  point — the  doctrine  of  the  Lord’s  Sup¬ 
per — seems  incomprehensible,  until  one  observes  that 
their  difference  in  regard  to  the  Lord’s  Supper  pro¬ 
ceeded  from  different  views  of  the  way  in  which  salva¬ 
tion  is  appropriated,  and  involved,  ultimately,  different 
explanations  of  the  gospel  in  all  its  bearings.  Notwith¬ 
standing  their  common  protest  against  Romanism, 
Humanism,  and  Radicalism,  and  their  common  con¬ 
sent  to  the  cardinal  articles  of  the  evangelical  faith, — 
fourteen  of  the  fifteen  Marburg  Articles, — they  differed 
sufficiently  in  viewpoint,  mood  and  method,  to  make 
it  impossible  for  them  to  come  to  terms.^ 

They  were  at  odds  primarily  in  their  conception  of 
the  way  of  salvation, — how  salvation  was  given  of  God, 
how  it  was  appropriated  by  men,  and  how  it  approved 

^  Loofs  says :  “Luther  was  led  in  a  way  far  different  from  Zwingli. 
Zwingli  knew  and  tolerated  the  humanistic  protest  before  he  com¬ 
prehended  the  religious  ideas  which  he  held  in  common  with 
Luther.  He  was  an  Erasmian  before  he  was  a  reformer.  Luther’s 
development  was  narrower,  yet  religiously  deeper.  The  waves  of 
the  new  learning  beat  but  lightly  against  the  cloister  cell  in  which 
he  prepared  his  lectures  and  had  his  spiritual  conflicts.” — “Luther’s 
Stellung  zum  Mittelalter  und  zur  Neuzeit,”  p.  10. 

196 


THE  EVANGELICAL  WAYS 


197 


itself  in  men.  The  reason  for  this  difference  is  to  be 
found  in  their  personal  experience,  their  way  of  ap¬ 
proach  to  Evangelical  Christianity,  and  their  manner 
of  protest  against  Roman  Catholicism. 

Luther  was  in  quest  of  righteousness,  the  assurance 
of  forgiveness  of  sin,  that  he  might  be  at  peace  with 
his  God.  For  this  he  entered  the  monastery.  After 
a  bitter  struggle  he  found  rest  in  the  grace  of  God 
manifested  in  Christ  and  appropriated  by  faith.  He 
revived  the  Pauline  doctrine  of  justification  by  grace 
through  faith.  The  word  and  deed  of  Luther,  the  doc¬ 
trine,  polity,  cultus,  and  piety  of  his  Church,  were 
controlled  by  his  experience.  The  sole  purpose  of  the 
Church  was  to  proclaim  the  grace  of  God,  and  to 
cultivate  the  life  of  the  saved. 

Zwingli  was  reared  under  the  enlightening  and 
liberating  influences  of  humanism.  He  was  taught 
to  go  to  the  sources  {ad  fontes) :  for  culture,  to  the 
Greek  and  Latin  classics;  for  religion,  to  the  Hebrew 
and  Greek  Testaments.  In  1523  he  wrote:  “Ten  years 
before  did  I  begin  to  study  Greek,  that  I  might  learn 
the  teaching  of  Jesusi  out  of  the  original  sources.”  “ 
He  was  in  search  of  reality  and  simplicity  in  religion, 
the  philosophia  Christi,  the  Christian  way  of  life. 
Popular  superstition,  elaborate  ritualism,  scholastic 
theology,  pagan  idolatry  under  cover  of  Christian 
piety,  could  not  long  survive  the  penetrating  intellect 
and  moral  discernment  of  humanism.  It  inspired  en¬ 
thusiasm  for  reform,  and  not  a  few  humanists  became 
ardent  reformers.  Zwingli,  however,  could  not  remain 
a  humanist;  he  turned  evangelical. 

When  Zwingli  left  the  University  of  Basel,  he  was 
not  disturbed,  like  Luther,  by  the  question  of  personal 


'“Auslegung  der  Schluss-reden.” 


198  CHRISTIAN  WAYS  OF  SALVATION 

salvation.  He  had  no  deep  sense  of  sin  and  of  the  need 
of  grace.  He  was  concerned  more  about  the  welfare 
of  his  people, — their  political  and  moral  needs.  In¬ 
stead  of  going  to  a  monastery  to  save  himself,  he  went 
into  a  parish  to  save  others.  He  was  a  patriot  as  well 
as  a  priest,  and  was  jealous  for  the  welfare  of  his 
countrymen.  He  became  a  teacher  of  promising  young 
men,  and  prepared  them  for  the  university.  He  turned 
his  attention  from  theology  and  philosophy  to  the 
Bible,  which  became  the  fontal  source  of  his  preaching, 
and  the  criterion  of  the  doctrines  and  practices  of 
church  and  state. 

The  nearest  approach  to  an  account  of  his  conversion 
from  Catholicism  to  Protestantism, — corresponding  to 
Luther’s  discovery  of  the  free  grace  of  God  in  Christ 
and  yet  in  substance  widely  differing  from  it, — is  the 
following  passage: 

In  my  younger  days  I  was  as  much  devoted  to  worldly 
knowledge  as  any  of  my  age,  and  when  seven  or  eight  years 
ago  I  gave  myself  up  to  the  study  of  the  Bible  I  was  com¬ 
pletely  under  the  power  of  the  jarring  philosophy  and 
theology.  But  led  by  the  Scriptures  and  the  word  of  God, 
I  was  forced  to  the  following  conclusion:  You  must  leave 
them  all  alone  and  learn  the  meaning  of  the  Word  out  of 
the  Word  itself.  So  I  asked  God  to  give  me  his  light,  and 
then  the  Scriptures  began  to  be  much  more  intelligible  when 
I  read  them  themselves  alone,  than  when  I  read  much  com¬ 
mentary  and  exposition  of  them.  Do  you  not  see  that  was 
a  sign  that  God  was  leading  me?  For  I  never  could  have 
come  to  such  a  conclusion  by  my  own  small  under¬ 
standing.® 

Zwingli  discovered  the  Bible  as  the  only  rule  of  faith 
and  practice,  Luther  the  free  grace  of  God  as  the  only 
ground  of  justification. 

®  Jackson,  “Life  of  Zwingli,”  pp.  83.  84. 


THE  EVANGELICAL  WAYS 


199 


The  change  in  his  religious  views  was  the  result, 
not  so  much  of  a  spiritual  conflict  with  his  sins  and 
his  God,  as  of  gradual  illumination  by  teachers  and 
patient  study.  Erasmus  taught  him  the  sole  sufficiency 
of  the  Bible,  without  a  violent  controversy  with  eccle¬ 
siastical  authority.  Wyttenbach  taught  him  the  sole 
sufficiency  of  Christ  as  Savior,  without  ecclesiastical 
mediation.  Luther  taught  him  the  difference  between 
law  and  grace,  and  the  meaning  of  the  message  of  Paul, 
without  a  deep  personal  experience  of  sin  and  salvation. 

When  doubts  arose  or  questions  were  raised  about 
things  taught  or  done,  he  put  them  to  the  test  of 
Christ.  Hat  uns  Christus  so  gelehrt  (Has  Christ  taught 
us  thus)?  When  he  saw  idolatrous  homage  paid  to 
the  Virgin  at  Einsiedlen,  he  instinctively  revolted  from 
the  exaltation  of  the  creature  above  the  Creator,  and 
boldly  announced  that  all  honor  should  be  given  to 
God  alone.  He  denied  the  authority  of  traditions, 
ordinances,  and  customs  which  were  not  based  upon 
the  word  of  God.  In  Zurich  he  preached  and  taught 
the  Bible  only,  expounding  the  Gospels  in  course  to 
show  men  the  word  of  God,  and  the  book  of  the  Acts 
to  show  men  the  Church  under  the  control  of  the 
Spirit  of  God. 

In  the  light  of  the  Bible  he  criticized  and  reformed 
the  Church.  He  found  neither  Pope  nor  hierarchy  in 
the  New  Testament.  He  denounced  the  mass  of  super¬ 
stitions  and  idolatries  that  in  the  course  of  centuries 
had  been  brought  into  the  Church  and  sanctified  by 
Christian  usage,  but  had  no  basis  in  Scripture.  The 
whole  system  of  meritorious  works,  monasticism,  pil¬ 
grimages,  penitential  discipline,  he  rejected  as  unscrip- 
tural  and  as  human  inventions.  He  dispensed  with 
sensuous  vehicles  of  grace.  All  kinds  of  mediators 


200  CHRISTIAN  WAYS  OF  SALVATION 

between  the  soul  and  God — virgin,  saints,  relics,  per¬ 
sonal  and  material  mediation — interfered,  in  his  view, 
with  the  free  operation  of  God's  Spirit  through  his 
word  in  the  hearts  of  men.  God  was  not  bound  to  an 
ecclesiastical  system:  he  could  w^ork  when  and  where 
and  how  he  pleased. 

r  The  Zwinglian  reform  was,  consequently,  far  more 
radical  than  the  Lutheran  in  its  treatment  of  Catholic 
traditions  and  customs.  Zwingli's  reconstruction  of  the 
Church  was  more  thorough;  as  is  evidenced  by  the 
removal  of  all  remnants  of  Romanism  in  worship,  by 
his  more  democratic  church  government,  and  by  his 
reforms  in  social  and  civil  life.  Luther  was  guided  by 
the  principle,  that  whatever  is  not  contrary  to  the 
Bible,  and  is  useful  for  edification,  might  be  retained. 
Zwingli  held  that  only  those  things  were  to  be  retained 
which  were  commanded  in  the  Bible.  That  he  was 
always  rigorously  true  to  this  ideal  may  be  disputed, 
and  yet  it  expresses  clearly  his  controlling  purpose.^ 
The  difference  between  Zwingli  and  Luther  in  their 
protest  against  Catholicism  has  been  defined  as  fol¬ 
lows:  Zwingli  attacked  the  heathen  elements  in  the 
Catholic  Church,  namely,  the  deification  of  the  crea¬ 
ture, — the  Virgin,  saints,  sacred  places,  and  the  hier¬ 
archy, — for  these  detracted  from  God's  honor,  and  put 
human  opinions  in  place  of  divine  revelation.  Luther 
attacked  the  Jewish  errors  in  the  Catholic  Church, 
namely,  the  system  of  meritorious  works;  for  these 
detracted  from  the  free  grace  of  God  in  Christ.  The 
one  criticized  and  renounced  Catholicism  because  it 

^  Max  Goebel  says  that  Zwingli,  in  his  controversy  with  the 
Anabaptists,  abandoned  the  positive  biblical  principle,  like  Luther 
in  opposition  to  Carlstadt,  and  contented  himself  with  the  negative 
view  of  accepting  whatever  is  not  forbidden  in  the  Scriptures. 
“Geschichte  des  Christlichen  Lebens,”  I.  p.  153. 


THE  EVANGELICAL  WAYS 


201 


deprived  God  of  his  glory;  the  other,  because  it  de¬ 
prived  men  of  true  salvation. 

Zwingli’s  idea  of  salvation  was  shaped  wholly  by  his 
idea  of  God.  He  thought  of  God  as  sovereign  will, — 
the  absolute  and  unconditioned  cause  of  everything, 
a  philosophical  concept  with  religious  inferences. 
Luther  accepted  God  as  revealed  in  his  Son,  as  a 
Father  who  pardons  sinners  and  adopts  them  as  sons. 
Luther’s  starting  point  was  christological,  God  in 
Christ,  and  anthropological,  man’s  personal  experience 
of  saving  grace.  Zwingli’s  starting  point  was  theologi¬ 
cal.  He  went  back  of  Christ  and  began  with  the  abso¬ 
lute  will,  the  source  and  power  of  creation,  providence, 
salvation,  and  sanctification.  This  difference  resulted 
in  two  distinct  ways  of  evangelical  salvation. 


For  Zwingli  salvation  had  its  origin  in  the  will  of 
God,  depending  upon  divine  election  alone,  and  not 
upon  the  merits  of  men.  Luther  made  the  grace  of 
God  central  and  final;  Zwingli  went  beyond  the  his¬ 
torical  revelation  of  grace  to  the  absolute  will  of  God. 
Divine  election  is  realized  in  the  elect  through  the  life 
and  death,  the  resurrection  and  glorification,  of  Jesus; 
and  through  the  Word,  and  the  ordinances  of  the 
Church.  Yet  God  is  by  no  means  bound  in  revelation 
or  in  salvation  to  external  means.  Historical  acts  and 
institutions  are  only  signs  and  seals  of  election:  not 
the  cause  of  salvation,  but  the  declaration  of  salvation ; 
not  channels,  but  symbols,  of  grace.  For  grace  is  a 
spiritual  quality  which  cannot  be  transmitted  by  ma¬ 
terial  vehicles.  Zwingli’s  indignation  is  aroused  when 
external  media  are  put  in  place  of  the  immediate 


202  CHRISTIAN  WAYS  OF  SALVATION 

spiritual  activity^of  God  in  men.  Hence  his  almost 
iconoclastic  opposition  to  hierarchy,  Virgin,  saints, 
masses,  altars,  on  the  one  hand;  and  his  unbend¬ 
ing  attitude  toward  Luther’s  sacramental  views  at 
'  Marburg. 

'  Faith  has  not  the  central  significance  for  Zwingli 
that  it  has  for  Luther.  For  Luther  it  is,  though 
wrought  by  God,  the  condition  for  the  appropriation 
of  divine  grace;  for  Zwingli  it  is  a  sign  of  election, — 
not  the  cause,  but  the  result  of  election.  For  Luther  it 
is  trust  exclusively  in  the  pardoning  love  of  God;  for 
Zwingli  it  is  ^^absolute  trust  in  God  and  his  word  with¬ 
out  wavering.”  In  his  Sixty-seven  Conclusions  he  corre¬ 
lates  faith  with  the  all-controlling  Providence  of  God; 
Luther  always  correlates  it  with  the  forgiving  grace 
of  God.  Zwingli  had  not  the  same  interest  in  justi¬ 
fication  as  Luther:  he  was  concerned  in  the  assurance 
of  election  which  carried  with  it  the  forgiveness  of  sin 
and  the  process  of  sanctification,  through  the  life  and 
work  of  Christ. 

Luther  regarded  the  Christian  life  as  a  free  and 
spontaneous  expression  of  gratitude  for  salvation,  the 
disinterested  service  of  men  under  the  impulse  of  love, 
a  service  that  is  both  worship  and  benevolence.  Zwingh 
considered  the  elect  bound  by  the  will  of  God  revealed 
in  the  Scriptures,  in  the  application  of  which  to  life 
they  find  proof  of  their  election.  Here  there  was  a 
challenge  to  the  will  of  man  and  a  compelling  motive 
for  the  transformation  of  society,  which  developed  into 
the  aggressive  puritanism  of  the  Reformed  Churches. 
The  Bible  itself  came  to  be  regarded  as  a  book  of  laws 
that  were  to  regulate  the  life  of  the  elect, — their  wor¬ 
ship,  their  church  organization,  and  their  personal  and 
social  relations  in  church  and  state.  For  Luther  the 


THE  EVANGELICAL  WAYS 


203 


Bible  was  a  revelation  of  grace,  and  the  means  for 
making  known  and  confirming  the  gi’ace  of  God  to  the 
sinner:  only  that  is  authoritative,  in  the  Scriptures, 
which  stresses  Christ  (das  Christum  treibet)^  True, 
both  conceptions  of  the  Bible  were  held  by  both  Re¬ 
formers,  yet  held  in  such  different  relations  that  they 
produced  two  distinct  types  of  Christian  life  and 
morality. 

Ill 

After  the  death  of  Zwingli  (1531),  John  Calvin  of 
Geneva  became  the  leader  of  the  Reformed  Churches. 
Born  in  1509,  he  naturally  belonged  to  the  second 
generation  of  Reformers,  and  was  the  heir  of  Luther 
and  Zwingli.  Yet  he  was  by  no  means  a  mere  disciple 
and  imitator.  He  ranks  with  Zwingli  as  an  original 
reformer,  and  as  the  founder  of  a  distinct  type  of 
evangelical  Protestantism  with  its  own  practical  aims 
and  doctrinal  system. 

His  experience  of  conversion,  doubtless,  had  pro¬ 
found  influence,  not  only  upon  his  theory  of  salvation, 
but  upon  his  life  and  thought  generally.  In  a  tract 
addressed  to  Sadolet,  he  speaks  of  having  tried  the 
Catholic  means  of  salvation  wdthout  finding  peace 
through  any  of  them.  Then  he  adds :  ‘‘As  by  a  sudden 
flash  of  light,  I  discovered  in  what  an  abyss  of  error,  in 
what  filth,  I  was  steeped.  So  I  did,  0  Lord!  what  was 
my  duty,  and  gave  myself,  in  terror  and  in  tears,  to  thy 
way,  condemning  my  earlier  manner  of  life.”  In  an¬ 
other  passage,  in  the  Preface  to  his  Commentary  on 
the  Psalms  (1557),  he  says:  “God  by  sudden  conver¬ 
sion  (subita  conversione)  reduced  my  mind  to  docility.” 
Here  two  ideas  stand  out  in  bold  relief:  the  sover¬ 
eignty  of  God  (“God  reduced  my  mind  to  docility”). 


204 


CHRISTIAN  WAYS  OF  SALVATION 


and  man’s  unconditional  surrender  to  God’s  will  (“I 
gave  myself  to  thy  way”). 

In  his  doctrine  of  salvation  Calvin  is  in  sympathy 
with  Zwingli :  he  is  primarily  concerned  with  the  main¬ 
tenance  of  the  glory  and  majesty  of  God.  The  redemp¬ 
tion  and  happiness  of  men  are  only  a  means  to  this 
end.  Professor  Besz  says:  ‘The  suggestion,  which 
Luther’s  sayings  often  awaken,  that  God  exists  for 
man’s  sake,  Calvin  never  allowed  to  come  up.”  Sin  and 
the  Fall  were  made  subservient  to  the  glory  of  God. 
God,  as  the  absolute  Ruler  of  the  Universe,  determined 
to  manifest  both  his  mercy  and  his  justice.  He,  there¬ 
fore,  created  men,  choosing  some  for  salvation  that  his 
mercy  might  be  revealed,  and  choosing  others  for 
damnation  that  his  justice  might  be  revealed.  Thus, 
through  the  elect  and  the  reprobate,  God  is  glorified. 

The  fall  of  man  is  included  in  the  decree  of  God,  and 
God  becomes  the  author  of  sin, — auctor  peccati.  Sin 
itself  is  a  means  for  the  divine  glory.  Calvin  could 
readily  accept  the  Decretum  horrible,  for  it  served  to 
glorify  God. 

I  ask  again,  How  is  it  that  the  fall  of  Adam  involves  so 
many  nations,  with  their  infant  children,  in  eternal  death 
without  remedy,  unless  it  so  seemed  meet  to  God?  Here 
the  most  loquacious  tongues  must  be  dumb.  The  decree,  I 
admit,  is  horrible — decretum  quidem  horribile,  fateor. 
(‘institutes,”  Bk.  III.  cap.  23,  7.) 

After  the  decree  of  the  fall  comes  the  more  comfort¬ 
able  article  on  predestination, — at  least  for  the  elect: 

Predestination  is  the  eternal  counsel  of  God  by  which  he 
has  decreed  what  shall  become  of  every  man.  For  not  all 
are  created  under  the  same  conditions;  but  some  are  or¬ 
dained  to  eternal  life  and  others  to  eternal  damnation. 


THE  EVANGELICAL  WAYS 


205 


Each  is  predestined  either  to  salvation  or  to  reprobation 
by  an  eternal  unchangeable  decree;  the  one  by  virtue  of 
undeserved  mercy,  the  other  by  a  righteous  though  in¬ 
scrutable  judgment.  In  no  sense  is  God  controlled  by  a 
fore-knowledge  of  men’s  actions,  but  by  his  own  absolute 
will.  (“Institutes,”  Bk.  III.  cap.  21,  5.) 

Salvation  clearly  has  its  source  and  power  in  God; 
man  is  wholly  dependent  on  his  providence  and  grace. 
As  the  decree  of  election  is  irresistible,  so  also  must 
his  grace  be.  The  elect  must  persevere  unto  the  end. 
Nothing  can  separate  them  from  his  love.  Here  Calvin 
went  beyond  Luther.  The  latter  had  assurance  of 
faith ;  but  Calvin  had  assurance  of  perseverance,  which 
Luther  never  affirmed.  Calvin  differed  from  Zwingli 
in  holding  that  election  unto  salvation  is  only  through 
Christ;  while  Zwingli  claimed  that  some  have  been 
elected  before  Christ,  not  through  him  and  by  him. 

The  work  of  salvation,  in  its  historical  form,  is 
accomplished  through  the  incarnation  and  the  Chris¬ 
tian  Church.  The  elect  realize  their  election  through 
the  word,  the  sacraments,  and  Christian  living.  In 
the  exposition  of  the  appropriation  of  salvation  Calvin 
was  more  in  accord  with  Luther  than  with  Zwingli. 
Professor  Lang  says: 

Calvin  expounded  more  clearly  and  more  logically  the 
original  views  of  Luther  on  salvation,  faith,  justification, 
and  sanctification,  than  any  other  dogmatician  of  the  Re¬ 
formers.® 

The  elect  are  justified  by  imputation  of  Christ’s 
righteousness  and  by  faith  alone.  Sanctification  fol¬ 
lows  justification,  continuing  as  a  life-long  process. 
The  Churcli  is  the  company  of  the  elect.  It  is  free 


““Zwingli  and  Calvin,”  p.  106. 


206  CHRISTIAN  WAYS  OF  SALVATION 

from  human  authority,  kings  and  bishops,  opinions  and 
traditions,  and  is  bound  only  by  the  word  of  God.  The 
notes  of  the  Church  (notae  ecclesiae)  are  the  preaching 
of  the  word  and  the  administration  of  the  sacraments. 
In  the  Reformed  Confessions  administration  of  Chris¬ 
tian  discipline  is  generally  added  as  a  third  note.  The 
Church  is  both  an  institution  of  salvation  with  gospel 
and  sacraments,  and  a  religious  community  cooperat¬ 
ing  in  bringing  the  individual  and  communal  life  under 
the  power  of  God’s  word. 

The  officers  of  the  Church  receive  their  authority, 
not  from  the  congregation,  on  the  basis  of  the  uni¬ 
versal  priesthood  of  the  believer,  but  directly  from 
God;  and  their  function  is  preaching,  teaching,  disci¬ 
pline,  and  the  declaration  of  God’s  laws.  Their  over¬ 
sight  is  of  spiritual  and  civil  affairs  in  the  sense  of  a 
theocracy.  The  Evangelical  Church  of  Calvin  is  in 
spirit  a  theocracy  like  the  Catholic  Church  of  Rome. 
They  differ  only  as  to  what  the  will  of  God  is,  and  as 
to  the  manner  in  which  it  is  to  be  made  to  prevail  in 
life.  They  agree  that  it  is  the  function  of  the  Church 
through  its  officers  to  make  the  will  of  God  prevail, 
even  by  legal  measures.  To  offend  the  Church  and 
to  violate  its  authority  is  tantamount  to  an  offense 
against  God. 

Both  the  word  and  the  sacraments  are  effectual 
only  in  the  elect.  “In  the  elect  alone  the  sacraments 
accomplish  what  they  represent.”  ®  Faith  is  the  sure 
evidence  of  election,  for  only  the  elect  can  believe. 
Yet,  since  all  the  commandments  of  God  are  addressed 
to  all  men,  all  are  to  live  and  to  act  as  if  they  were 
elect.  In  his  views  of  the  Lord’s  Supper,  Calvin  dif¬ 
fered  from  Zwingli,  and  approached  the  sacramental 


’“‘Institutes”  IV,  14,  14. 


THE  EVANGELICAL  WAYS 


207 


views  of  Luther.  The  believer  is  to  be  mystically 
united  {unio  7nystica)  with  the  glorified  Christ:  a 
union  realized  through  the  humanity  of  Christ,  or 
through  the  flesh  of  Christ,  caw  Christi.  All  the  bless¬ 
ings  of  Christ  are  imparted  to  the  communicant  ‘^out 
of  the  substance  of  the  flesh  of  Christ^^;  which,  how¬ 
ever, — contrary  to  Luther’s  view, — is  not  in  the  bread 
and  wine,  and  is  not  partaken  of  through  the  mouth. 
Through  the  power  of  the  Spirit,  the  communicant, 
brought  into  mystical  fellowship  with  the  glorified 
humanity,  receives  the  blessings  mediated  through  the 
^^flesh  of  Christ.” 

Calvin  based  the  ultimate  assurance  of  salvation  on 
the  will  of  God  expressed  in  the  election  of  the  sinner 
to  salvation.  He  put  no  trust  in  priestly  declarations, . 
in  sacramental  signs,  or  in  mystic  visions.  Faith  was 
a  sign  of  election,  for  only  the  elect  could  believe. 
Election  is  further  assured  by  the  transformation  of 
the  individual  and  the  social  life,  including^Foundness 
of  doctrine  and  of  morals.  The  Calvinist  felt  himself 
to  be  an  organ  through  which  the  divine  will  is  fulfilled, 
and  the  divine  purpose  on  earth  carried  out.  He  has  a 
deep  sense  of  opposition  to  the  world,  and  a  firm  re¬ 
solve  to  resist  and  to  conquer  it.  The  Bible  is  for  him 
a  book  of  laws,  the  law  of  God,  to  rule  his  life.  He 
must  deny  himself,  and  submit  wholly  to  the  will  of 
God  in  all  human  relations.  This  is  the  essence  of 
Puritanism.  Luther  also  was  concerned  about  proof 
of  justification,  which  he  found  in  faith  and  in  patient 
endurance  of  the  ills  and  sorrows  of  life  in  this  vale  of 
tears.  The  hearing  of  the  word  and  the  use  of  the 
sacrament  of  the  Lord’s  Supper  strengthened  faith  in 
divine  grace  and  confirmed  the  believer  in  the  cer¬ 
tainty  of  salvation.  Luther  stressed  the  religious  side 


208  CHRISTIAN  WAYS  OF  SALVATION 

of  life,  the  peace  of  pardon  and  the  joy  of  salvation. 
Calvin  called  men  to  action  when  he  demanded  strict 
conformity  of  the  elect  to  the  word  of  God,  and  the 
application  of  the  word  to  the  whole  order  of  life.  The 
Calvinists  could  not  rest  content  with  the  enjoyment  of 
divine  sonship  through  grace,  however  fine  that  is. 
They  felt  the  call  to  action,  to  glorify  God.  They 
dared  to  do  and  to  die.  They  went  forth  into  the 
wilderness  as  pioneers;  they  fought  their  battles  to 
the  tune  of  the  Psalms ;  they  defied  kings,  and  bishops, 
and  parliaments ;  and  for  the  sovereignty  of  God  they 
gave  their  lives.  Calvin,  in  a  letter  to  Farel,  March, 
says: 

If  our  calling  (vocatio)  is  indeed  of  the  Lord,  as  we 
firmly  believe  that  it  is,  the  Lord  himself  will  bestow  his 
blessing,  although  the  whole  universe  may  be  opposed  to  us. 
Let  us,  therefore,  try  every  remedy,  while,  if  such  is  not  to 
be  found,  let  us,  notwithstanding,  persevere  to  the  last  gasp. 

IV 

1 

—  Evangelical  Protestantism  was  originally  spirit  and 
life  in  the  Reformers,  an  experience  of  salvation  with 
the  dynamic  of  a  new  order  in  church  and  state.  It  was 
a  revival  of  Paul’s  doctrine  of  grace,  which  freed  him 
i  from  Judaism  and  delivered  them  from  Catholicism. 
They  rejoiced  in  the  freedom  of  the  Christian  man, 
emancipated  from  baseless  superstitions,  from  the 
bondage  of  human  opinions,  from  the  tyranny  of 
princes  and  bishops,  from  the  fear  of  death  and  damna¬ 
tion.  They  were  children  and  heirs  of  God,  guided 
by  his  Spirit,  trusting  in  his  providence,  serving  one 
another  in  love,  and  rejoicing  in  hope.  They  pro- 

^Bossuet,  I.  p.  131. 


THE  EVANGELICAL  WAYS 


209 


tested  against  Catholicism  because  in  spirit  they  had 
passed  beyond  it.  In  practice,  however,  they  were 
still  influenced  by  it  and  could  not  wholly  free  -them¬ 
selves  from  it.  They  were  men  ‘Vandering  between 
two  worlds,  one  dead,  the  other  powerless  to  be  born.” 
Any  one  of  them  can  be  quoted  against  himself.  None 
was  capable  of  drawing  all  the  inferences  which  were 
latent  in  his  evangelical  experience.  This  becomes? 
evident  in  their  sacramental  views,  their  reversion  to' 
biblical  literalism,  their  establishment  of  external  au¬ 
thorities  in  religious  matters,  their  introduction  of 
metaphysical  speculations  in  regard  to  the  ubiquity  of 
Christ’s  humanity  and  the  predestination  of  the  elect 
and  the  reprobate,  their  acceptance  of  traditional  dog¬ 
mas  rooted  in  an  experience  of  salvation  wholly  dif¬ 
ferent  from  the  Evangelical,  their  failure  to  distinguish 
gospel  and  theology,^  their  demand  that  the  believer 
accept  catechisms  and  confessions  authoritatively 
promulgated  under  threat  of  civil  penalities.  These 
were  Catholic  tendencies  not  easily  harmonized  with 
the  evangelical  spirit. 

Of  course  the  Reformers  were  evangelical  and  far  | 
removed  from  Catholicism  in  their  conception  of  sal¬ 
vation  as  solely  and  wholly  the  work  of  God,  a  per¬ 
sonal  experience  wrought  in  the  heart  by  the  Spirit 
through  the  word,  without  priestly  mediation.  This 
experimental  knowledge  of  the  gracious  will  of  God 
afforded  them  a  certitude  of  salvation  such  as  the 
Catholic  Church  did  not  presume  to  offer.  Their  mo¬ 
tive  for  Christian  living  was  free  from  the  idea  of 
merit,  and  was  found  in  gratitude  to  God  and  in  the 

*  Erasmus,  in  his  “Hyperaspistes,”  (I.)  charges  Luther  with  modi¬ 
fying  the  scholastic  theology  with  his  own,  i.e.,  Luther’s,  but  not 
with  giving  it  up. —  Zickendraht,  “Erasmus  und  Luther,”  p.  63. 


210  CHRISTIAN  WAYS  OF  SALVATION 

strong  desire  to  glorify  God  by  obedience  to  his  word. 
The  evidences  of  reversion  to  Catholicism  are  the  ac¬ 
ceptance  of  doctrines  without  a  personal  experience  of 
their  contents;  the  approach  to  God  through  mediat¬ 
ing  institutions  and  officials;  the  equalizing  in  author¬ 
ity  of  the  gospel  and  the  government  of  the  Church; 
the  sacramental  dispensation  of  grace  in  portions;  the 
introduction  of  merit  as  a  motive  in  worship  and  work. 

The  followers  of  the  Reformers,  lacking  personal 
experience  and  spiritual  understanding  of  evangelical 
ideas,  were  controlled  by  tendencies  that  worked  for 
a  subtle  Catholicizing  of  Lutheran  and  Calvinistic 
Churches.  Eberlin  von  Gunzburg  complains  that 
many  imitate  Luther’s  words  and  deeds,  without  shar¬ 
ing  the  conviction  out  of  which  they  sprang.®  The 
religion  of  the  spirit  became  a  religion  of  authority. 

The  man  who  knows  religion  only  as  custom  and  law 
creates  the  priest,  for  the  purpose  of  ridding  himself  of  an 
essential  part  of  the  obligations  which  he  feels  by  loading 
them  upon  him.  He  also  makes  ordinances,  for  the  semi¬ 
religious  prefer  an  ordinance. 

In  this  respect  there  is  a  close  resemblance  between 
primitive  Christianity  in  its  transition  to  ancient 
Catholicism  and  the  Christianity  of  the  Reformers  in 
its  transition  to  the  orthodox  ecclesiasticism  of  the 
Protestant  Churches.  In  both  instances  the  change 
came  about  in  the  same  way.  The  failure  of  the  Gen¬ 
tile  churches  to  understand  Paul,  though  avowedly 
loyal  to  him,  reminds  one  of  the  failure  of  the  Luther¬ 
ans  to  understand  Luther,  though  professing  an  almost 
idolatrous  devotion  to  him.  The  gradual  decline 
of  personal  experience  of  saving  grace  was  followed  in 

*  Zickendraht,  “Erasmus  und  Luther,”  p.  27. 


THE  EVANGELICAL  WAYS 


211 


both  periods  by  reliance  upon  oificial  declarations,  in¬ 
stitutional  guarantees,  and  the  infallible  Bible.  Faith 
in  the  mercy  of  God  as  revealed  in  Christ  was  reduced 
to  assent  to  historical  facts  and  dogmatic  propositions 
about  God  and  man.  Trustful  surrender  to  a  living 
person  who  saves  and  sanctifies  was  turned  into  adher¬ 
ence  to  an  institution  entrusted  with  revealed  doctrine 
and  prescribed  rules  of  life.  The  spontaneous  service 
of  love,  motived  by  gratitude  to  God  and  concern  for 
the  welfare  of  men,  became  obedience  to  biblical  or 
ecclesiastical  precepts,  in  the  hope  of  securing  the 
promised  reward.  The  sacraments  were  administered 
without  regard  to  personal  faith.  The  community  of 
believers,  directing  its  own  affairs  under  the  guidance 
of  the  Spirit,  became  a  state  church  or  a  church  state, 
controlled  by  princes,  city  councils,  or  presbyters,  whose 
authority  did  not  grow  out  of  the  priestly  prerogatives 
of  the  believers.  One  is  reminded,  on  the  one  hand, 
of  Constantine's  state  church  and  the  provincial 
churches  of  Germany,  and,  on  the  other,  of  the  church 
state  of  Hildebrandt  and  the  theocracy  of  Calvin  at 
Geneva. 

The  faith  and  life  of  the  Christians  are  controlled 
by  law,  dissent  from  which  is  met  with  ecclesiastical 
and  civil  penalties.  The  Bible  and  the  Confession  of 
Faith  are  considered  equivalent,  equally  authorita¬ 
tive.^^  To  differ  from  the  one  or  the  other  is  sin  against 
God  and  crime  against  the  government.  The  Bible 
is  declared  to  be  an  infallible  and  divinely  dictated 
oracle,  inerrant  in  all  its  statements, — historical,  scien¬ 
tific,  moral,  religious, — even  to  the  vowel  points  of 

^®The  Presbyterian,  March  18,  1920,  Editorial,  p.  7.  “The  Bible 
and  the  Confession  (The  Westminster) — which  is  a  summary  of  thfe 
Bible — were  given  for  every  age  and  every  clime.” 


212  CHRISTIAN  WAYS  OF  SALVATION 

the  Hebrew  text.^^  A  damnamus  is  pronounced 
against  all  opponents,  whether  in  the  fourth,  or  in  the 
seventeenth  century.  Original  religious,  and  even 
scientific,  investigation  is  held  in  check  by  dogmatic 
authority  and  traditional  opinion.  Harnack  defines 
the  Catholic  Church  as  ‘The  Church  of  apostolic  tra¬ 
dition  fixed  by  law.’'  If  that  be  correct,  the  Protestant 
Churches  underwent  a  subtle  Catholicizing  process, 
without  installing  the  Pope  or  the  Mass.  They  be¬ 
came  the  Churches  of  Lutheran  and  Calvinistic  tradi¬ 
tion  fixed  by  law.  When  religion  of  any  kind  becomes 
doctrine  and  law,  held  apart  from  personal  experience 
and  accepted  merely  as  a  tradition,  without  spiritual 
apprehension  of  the  objective  realities,  it  has  the 
essential  elements  of  Catholicism. 

The  organization  of  new  churches,  whether  state 
churches  or  dissenting  sects,  hastened  and  hardened 
the  Catholicizing  process.  The  situation  was  not  unlike 
that  of  the  Church  in  the  second  century.  Then  Chris¬ 
tianity  in  its  apostolic  form  was  jeopardized  by  gnosti¬ 
cism,  montanism,  and  a  cruder  or  a  more  refined  pagan¬ 
ism.  To  maintain  its  original  heritage  and  to  ward 
off  deleterious  innovations,  the  Church  set  up  visible 
and  tangible  standards,  which  served  as  assurances  of 
continuity  with  the  apostles,  as  bonds  of  unity,  and  as 
safeguards  against  heresy  and  schism.  They  were  the 
Rule  of  Faith,  the  Canon  of  Scripture,  and  the  Epis¬ 
copal  Office.  The  promulgation  of  these  tests  of  catho¬ 
licity  was  both  a  loss  and  a  gain:  a  loss  of  original 

“  Formula  Consensus  Helvetica,  2-3. 

“Tschackert,  “Entstehung  der  Lutherischen  und  Reformirten 
Kirchenlehre,”  pp.  372-380.  The  candidate  for  ordination  was  to 
repeat  the  following  as  part  of  his  vow:  ‘T  curse  and  damn 
Zwingli  with  all  his  associates,  who  teach  and  write  differently 
from  these  articles,  as  heretics  and  dissenters.”  See,  also,  The 
Second  Helvetic  Confession  (1529),  Schaff,  “Creeds,  etc.,”  p.  257. 


THE  EVANGELICAL  WAYS 


213 


freedom,  spirituality,  and  spontaneity;  a  gain  in  soli¬ 
darity,  authority,  and  united  action.  It  was  the  only 
way  to  save  the  Church,  and  yet  the  Church  was  Saved 
at  the  expense  of  religious  freedom. 

The  Lutheran  and  the  Reformed  Churches  had  to 
guard  against  Romanism,  anabaptism,  and  ra¬ 
tionalism.  This  could  be  done  only  by  clearly  defined 
doctrines,  modes  of  worship,  forms  of  government, 
and  ways  of  life.  These  were  prepared  and  published 
with  ecclesiastical  and  civil  authority  in  the  form 
of  Church  Orders,  German,  Swiss,  Dutch,  English,  and 
Scotch.  Like  the  ancient  Catholic  standards,  the 
Orders  of  each  church  were  given  high  authority,  some¬ 
times  equal  to  the  Bible.  Without  these  the  Protestant 
Churches  could  not  have  become  potent  factors  in 
national  life,  nor  have  shaped  historical  movements 
in  the  modern  age. 

Yet  they  were  not  an  unmixed  blessing.  They  bred 
the  spirit  of  denominationalism,  with  its  brood  of  ills. 
Each  denomination  or  sect  claimed  to  have  the  divinely 
revealed  doctrine  or  government,  or  both.  Each  ac¬ 
cepted  its  church  order  as  a  transcript  from  the  Bible, 
and  therefore  claimed  to  be  the  legitimate  church 
of  the  living  God.  This  is  the  fontal  source  of  dog¬ 
matic  intolerance,  sectarian  bigotry,  polemical  contro¬ 
versies,  and  zealous  proselyting.  The  conditions  of 
salvation  were  made  grievous  to  be  met.  Being  saved 
was  tantamount  to  accepting  an  elaborate  confession, 
a  theory  and  mode  of  baptism,  a  form  of  church  gov¬ 
ernment,  a  definition  of  the  Lord’s  Supper,  a  theory 
of  ministerial  authority,  and  confessions  of  faith  which 
none  could  break  with  impunity.  Ministers  and  teach¬ 
ers  of  the  churches  were  bound  by  ordination  vows; 
churches  took  a  damnatory  attitude  toward  one  an- 


214  CHRISTIAN  WAYS  OF  SALVATION 

other,  or  toward  heretics  of  their  own.  The  wrath 
of  theologians  was  aroused  by  disputes  over  refined 
speculations  on  the  mysteries  of  predestination,  justi¬ 
fication,  regeneration,  atonement,  baptism,  and  the 
Lord's  Supper.  Dogmatic  formulas,  or  church  polity 
of  one  kind  or  another,  became  conditions  of  salvation ; 
for  which  there  was  little  hope  beyond  the  bounds  of 
a  particular  church  or  sect.  This  tendency  is  traced  by 
historians  to  the  division  of  Protestantism  through 
the  disagreement  of  Luther  and  Zwingli.  “There  ap¬ 
peared,”  says  Ziegler,^^  “a  certain  hardening  and  ossifi¬ 
cation,  a  dogmatism  in  Luther  himself,  which  con¬ 
tinued  for  centuries  in  his  church  and  has  not  been 
cast  off  to  this  day.” 

The  Formula  of  Concord  (1580)  marks  the  close 
of  the  confessional  development  of  the  Lutheran 
Church.  In  it  “gospel”  is  defined  as  “doctrine  which 
teaches  what  the  sinner  ought  to  believe.”  At  an¬ 
other  place,  however,  faith  is  still  described  as  “trust 
alone  in  the  Lord  Christ.”  But  the  tendency  to  mag¬ 
nify  the  intellectual  and  doctrinal  element  in  the  gospel 
is  predominant,  and  the  Lutheran  Church  is  rapidly 
turning  into  a  school  of  sound  doctrine.  Referring 
to  the  definition  of  “gospel,”  Moller-Kawerau  says: 
“This  sentence  clearly  shows  the  change  which 
Luther's  doctrine  of  faith  has  undergone.”  Professor 
Loofs  sees  in  the  Formula  of  Concord  and  the  Book 
of  Concord  “the  doctrinaire  hardening  of  the  reforma¬ 
tory  ideas  come  to  consummation.”  Tschackert,  in 
his  estimate  of^the  Formula  of  Concord,  says  it  is  to  be 

““Ethik,”  p.  440. 

“  Moller-Kawerau,  K.  G.  III.  p.  268. 

“  “Doktrinare  Erstarrung  des  reformatorishen  Gedanken  zum 
Abschluss  gekommen.”  D.  G.  4,  p.  927. 


THE  EVANGELICAL  WAYS  215 

deplored  that  ‘The  authors  have  given  it  the  value 
of  a  law  of  doctrine  for  the  future.” 

In  the  Reformed  Churches  conditions  were  about  the 
same.  Doctrinal  legalism  prevailed  in  the  Synod  of 
Dort  (1619).  The  earher  devotion  of  the  Reformed 
Churches  to  the  Bible  was  followed  by  a  period  of 
scholasticism  and  polemical  controversy,  similar  to 
that  in  the  Lutheran  Church.  Max  Goebel  speaks 
of  the  rise  of  orthodoxy,  through  which  “Reformed 
theology  received  a  polemical  tendency,  and  theolo¬ 
gians  were  prone  to  appeal  to  symbolical  books  rather 
than  to  the  Bible,  to  scholastic  formulas  rather  than 
to  simple  evangelical  truth,  to  cultivate  right  belief 
rather  than  to  faith  working  in  love.”^^ 

The  conflict  between  Anglicans  and  Puritans  in  Eng¬ 
land  promoted  an  autocratic  ecclesiasticism  on  the  one 
side,  and  a  rigid  confessionalism  on  the  other.  The 
former  has  come  down  to  us  in  the  claims  of  apostolic 
succession,  and  the  latter  in  the  highly  metaphys¬ 
ical  and  theological  orthodoxy  of  the  Westminster 
Standards. 

What  has  this  to  do  with  the  way  of  salvation? 
Much  in  every  way.  In  a  Catholicized  Protestantism 
the  simplicity  and  the  spirituality  of  the  saving  proc¬ 
ess  are  either  obscured  or  lost.  Whether  we  turn  to 
the  apostolic  communities  or  to  the  Reformers  in  the 
sixteenth  century,  we  find  that  salvation  is  a  personal, 
vital,  experimental,  and  spiritual  process.  The  process 
is  often  retarded  and  made  difiicult  by  confounding 
the  results  of  salvation  with  the  cause  of  salvation. 

die  Bedeutung  eines  Lehrgesetzes  fiir  die  Zukunft  gegeben 
habeu  ist  bedauerlich.” — “Entstehung  der  Lutherischen  und  Refor- 
inirten  Kirchenlehre,”  p.  572. 

^^Dorner,  “History  of  Protestant  Theology/’  Eng.  trans.,  II.  p.JU, 

“  Goebel,  “Gesch.  des  Chris.  Lebens,”  11.  p.  140. 


216  CHRISTIAN  WAYS  OF  SALVATION 

Doctrines  about  God,  Christ,  man,  and  the  future  life, 
carefully  thought  out;  institutions  through  which  the 
communit}^  of  the  saved  worship  and  work;  official 
persons  and  acts,  sacraments,  rites  and  ordinances, 

'  which  symbolize  and  confirm  in  audible  and  visible 
ways  the  fact  and  the  blessings  of  salvation;  rules  of 
conduct  often  differing  widely  in  different  churches; — 
all  these  are  not  the  cause  or  essential  factors  of  sal¬ 
vation.  They  are  the  outcome — the  doctrinal,  institu¬ 
tional,  aesthetic,  and  moral  expressions — of  salvation. 
The  failure  to  recognize  this  distinction  is  the  'primary 
cause  of  denominationalism  and  sectarianism,  suf- 
'  ficiently  strong  to  prevent  the  union  of  Protestant 
^^hurches  at  the  present  time. 

The  Evangelical  Churches  of  the  United  States  are 
still  largely  bound  by  the  confessional  orthodoxy  and 
the  ecclesiasticism  of  the  seventeenth  century.  They 
believe  in  an  inerrant  Bible,  as  they  did  then,  and  one 
of  the  cardinal  virtues  of  a  Christian  is  to  believe  the 
Bible  from  cover  to  cover.  Among  many  Christians 
there  seems  to  be  no  thought  of  a  distinction  between 
assent  to  the  contents  of  sixty-six  books,  and  faith  in 
God  as  revealed  in  Christ, — complete  surrender  to  a 
Christlike  God.  Ever  and  anon  there  are  discouraging 
evidences  of  an  almost  hopeless  reaction  to  an  uneth¬ 
ical,  and  above  all  an  unnecessary,  bibliolatry  and 
confessionalism.  Nothing  is  quite  so  sad  as  the  pre- 
millenarian  propaganda  and  the  quadrilateral  of  the 
fundamentalists.  The  inerrant  Bible,  the  Deity  of 
Christ,  the  Blood  Atonement,  and  the  imminency  of 
the  personal  visible  return  of  Christ  are  made  the  sub¬ 
stance  of  the  gospel.  What  a  hopeless  confusion  of 
gospel  and  dogma!  What  a  burdening  of  an  intelli¬ 
gent  Christian  conscience  with  things  which  may  all 


THE  EVANGELICAL -WAYS 


V. 


217 


be  true,  but  which  do  not  enter  vitally  into  the  saving 
experience  of  Jesus  Christ! 

In  the  Minutes  of  the  General  Assembly  of  the 
Presbyterian  Church,  U.  S.  A.,  1910,  page  272,  a  de- 
hverance  is  recorded  which  reminds  one  of  a  modern¬ 
ized  set  of  ^Tive  Points’’  of  Calvinism. 

The  Committee  on  Bills  and  Overtures  to  the  Gen¬ 
eral  Assembly  makes  ‘‘a  declaration  with  regard  to 
certain  essential  and  necessary  articles  of  faith,  to  wit : 

1.  It  is  an  essential  doctrine  of  the  Word  of  God  and  our 
Standards,  that  the  Holy  Spirit  did  so  inspire,  and  guide 
and  move  the  writers  of  the  Holy  Scriptures  as  to  keep  them 
from  error.  (The  “Confession”  quoted.  Cap.  I,  sec.  io.) 

2.  It  is  an  essential  doctrine  of  the  Word  of  God  and  our 
Standards,  that  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  was  born  of  the 
Virgin  Mary.  (“Shorter  Catechism,”  Question  22,  quoted.) 

3.  It  is  an  essential  doctrine  of  the  Word  of  God  and  our 
Standards,  that  Christ  offered  up  ^himself  a  sacrifice  to 
satisfy  divine  justice,  and  to  reconcile  us  to  God.’  (Text 
quoted,  I  Peter  3:18;  and  “Catechism,”  question  25,  re¬ 
ferred  to.) 

4.  It  is  an  essential  doctrine  of  the  Word  of  God  and  our 
Standards,  concerning  our  Lord  Jesus,  that  ‘on  the  third 
day  he  arose  from  the  dead,  with  the  same  body  in  which 
he  suffered;  with  which  also  he  ascended  into  heaven,  and 
there  sitteth  at  the  right  hand  of  his  Father,  making  inter¬ 
cession.’  (See  “Confession,”  Chap.  VIII,  sec.  4.) 

6.  It  is  an  essential  doctrine  of  the  Word  of  God  as  the 
supreme  Standard  of  our  faith,  that  the  Lord  Jesus  showed 
his  power  and  love  by  working  mighty  miracles.  This 
worlang  was  not  contrary  to  nature,  but  superior  to  it. 
(Quote  Matt.  9:35.)  These  great  wonders  were  signs  of 
the  divine  power  of  our  Lord,  making  changes  in  the  order 
of  nature.  They  were  equally  examples  to  his  Church,  of 
charity  and  good  will  to  all  mankind. 

These  five  articles  of  faith  are  declared  to  be  “essential 
and  necessary.”  They  may  be  summarized  as  follows: 


218 


CHRISTIAN  WAYS  OF  SALVATION 


(1)  Inerrancy  of  the  Bible;  (2)  Virgin  Birth;  (3) 
Satisfaction  Theory  of  Atonement;  (4)  Resurrection 
of  Jesus,  ^ Vith  the  same  body  in  which  He  suffered^’ ; 
(5)  Authenticity  of  miracles. 

Belief  in  these  points  is  declared  to  be  ‘^essential 
and  necessary”;  for  what?  Clearly  for  nothing  else 
but  salvation.  But  if  so,  these  ^‘essential  and  neces¬ 
sary”  articles  impose  conditions  for  salvation  and  for 
fidelity  to  Christ  about  most  of  which  neither  Jesus 
nor  Paul  said  anything,  and  which  exceed  those  re¬ 
quired  by  Catholicism  or  original  Protestantism. 

One  is  amazed  that,  in  these  ^^essential  and  neces¬ 
sary  articles  of  faith,”  not  a  word  is  said  of  justification 
by  grace  through  faith,  which  is  the  distinctive  prin¬ 
ciple  of  Evangelical  Christianity  and  differentiates  it 
from  Catholicism,  on  the  one  hand,  and  from  ration¬ 
alism,  on  the  other.  Indeed,  a  devout  Catholic  might 
heartily  accept  these  five  articles  without  surrendering 
any  of  the  essentials  of  his  faith,  and  any  man  might 
subscribe  to  all  of  them  without  having  a  spark  of 
experimental  Christianity. 

It  is  with  some  sense  of  relief  that  one  turns  to 
the  Minutes  of  the  Assembly  of  the  next  year  (1911) 
to  find  the  following  declaration: 

The  Presbyterian  Church  in  the  U.  S.  A.,  gathered  in 
General  Assembly,  hereby  solemnly  declares  and  reaffirms, 
in  loyalty  to  the  Great  Head  of  the  Church  Universal,  that 
the  only  conditions  of  admission  to  the  Church  are,  a  pro¬ 
fession  of  faith  in  Christ  and  obedience  to  Him,  followed 
by  baptism  in  the  name  of  the  Father,  and  of  the  Son,  and 
of  the  Holy  Ghost.^® 

Whether  this  action  is  an  indication  of  a  more 
Liberal  tendency,  or  a  palliative  for  the  stringent  dec- 

”  Minutes  of  General  Assembly,  1911,  p.  242. 


THE  EVANGELICAL  WAYS 


219 


laration  of  ^^certain  essential  and  necessary  articles 
of  faith’’  of  the  previous  year,  we  are  not  told.  What¬ 
ever  the  intention  may  have  been,  it  seems  perfectly 
clear  that  the  two  Declarations  cannot  be  reconciled, 
and  that  the  latter,  relating  to  conditions  of  church 
membership,  takes  the  heart  out  of  the  former,  defining 
the  “essential  and  necessary  articles  of  faith.” 

We  have  no  quarrel  with  the  five  points  of  the 
Declaration  of  1910  as  such ;  they  may  be  all  true,  but 
we  do  protest  vigorously  against  making  them  tests  of 
church  membership,  by  declaring  them  “essential  and 
necessary.”  A  better  evidence  of  a  Catholicized  Chris¬ 
tianity,  though  the  Pope  be  denounced  as  Antichrist, 
is  hard  to  find. 

But  closer  examination  will  convince  one  that  the 
position  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  is  held,  in  one 
form  or  another,  by  all  the  Protestant  Churches,  though 
not  by  all  Protestants.  The  Baptists  consider  baptism 
by  immersion,  the  Episcopalians  apostolic  succession 
and  ordination  by  Bishops,  the  Lutherans  their  doc¬ 
trine  of  the  Lord’s  Supper,  as  essential  and  necessary. 
Which  of  these  Churches  would  Paul  join,  were  he  to 
return  upon  the  earth?  and  which  has  found  the 
evangelical  way  of  salvation? 

Positions  like  these,  in  reference  to  articles  of  faith, 
are  still  taught  by  representative  men  in  theological 
seminaries.  In  the  Presbyterian,  June  10,  1920,  a  dis¬ 
tinguished  professor^®  in  the  Princeton  Theological 
Seminary  wrote  as  follows: 

Is  the  Westminster  Confession  a  purely  denominational 
affair?  It  is  a  purely  denominational  affair  to  those  who 
believe  that  it  is  merely  one  expression  of  the  progressive 
Christian  consciousness.  That  is  the  point  of  view  of  the 


“Professor  J.  G.  Machem. 


220  CHRISTIAN  WAYS  OF  SALVATION 

Plan  of  Union.  It  is  not  a  purely  denominational  affair  to 
those  who  believe  it  to  be  true.  Those  who  believe  it  to  be 
true  will  never  be  satisfied  until  it  has  been  accepted  by 
the  whole  world,  and  will  never  consent  to  be  limited  in 
the  propagation  of  it  by  any  church  or  union  of  churches 
whatsoever. 

Jesus  marveled  at  the  faith  of  the  centurion;  what 
would  he  do  at  the  naive  credulity  of  the  Princeton 
Professor? 

While  this  condition  prevails,  to  talk  of  church 
union  is  a  mere  waste  of  words;  to  attempt  to  recon¬ 
cile  Christianity  and  modern  culture  is  a  futile  task. 
To  expect  to  keep  the  rising  generations,  who  are 
taught  the  results  of  science  and  trained  to  think  of 
the  universe  in  a  scientific  way,  true  to  outworn  tra¬ 
ditions  of  the  Church,  is  to  ignore  the  requirements  of 
reason  and  conscience.  Clearly  there  is  a  great  task 
before  the  Protestant  ministers  and  teachers.  That 
task  is  to  show  men  the  Evangelical  way  of  salvation. 


CHAPTER  X 


THE  WAY  OF  THE  HUMANISTS 


Humanism  in  principle  is  a  distinctive  mental  and 
moral  attitude  and  disposition  toward  the  ultimate 
realities  of  life, — God,  man,  and  the  world.  It  assumes 
the  might  and  the  right  of  the  individual  to  work  out 
his  destiny  without  reliance  upon  superhuman  aid. 
Given  the  world  as  it  is  and  the  natural  endowments 
of  the  human  race,  man  can  make  his  life  in  all  its 
relations  what  it  ought  to  be.  He  has  native  ability 
to  think  and  to  act  for  himself,  and,  therefore,  to  be 
the  creator  of  his  own  destiny.  He  has  power  to  save 
himself  from  the  limitations  and  the  evil  of  the  world 
and  of  his  own  nature,  and  by  dint  of  intellect  and 
will  to  attain  perfection  of  character. 

Humanism,  in  the  words  of  Protagoras,  makes  ^^man 
the  measure  of  all  things.^'  It  strives  passionately  to 
give  to  life  a  spiritual  content  of  man’s  own  choosing, 
and  puts  man  in  the  center  of  his  thinking,  so  as  to 
relate  all  science  and  literature  to  human  life  and  its 
purposes.  The  cardinal  article  of  its  creed  is  the  per¬ 
fectibility  of  man  without  help  from  above. 

Humanism  does  not  belong  to  any  particular  age 
or  nation,  but  is  a  spirit  that  to  some  extent  pervades 
every  age  and  people.  It  is  found  in  savagery  and 
barbarism,  and  reaches  its  highest  development  and 

221 


222  CHRISTIAN  WAYS  OF  SALVATION 

expression  in  the  enlightened  nations,  especially  of  the 
Western  world.  As  men  advance  in  culture,  they  feel 
less  the  need  of  superhuman  agencies,  anc^become  self- 
sufficient  and  independent.  Mr.  Bury  says:\/ 

Religion  is  gradually  becoming  less  indispensable.  The 
further  we  go  back  in  the  past,  the  more  valuable  is  religion 
as  an  element  in  civilization;  as  we  advance,  it  retreats 
more  and  more  into  the  background,  to  be  replaced  by 
science.^ 

This  view,  however,  is  by  no  means  supported  by  most 
modern  sociologists,  not  to  speak  of  the  theologians.^ 

The  characteristics  of  humanism  appear  more  clearly 
by  way  of  contrast.  It  is  the  direct  opposite  of  super¬ 
naturalism,  which  separates  God  and  man  to  such  an 
extent  that  man  is  considered  helpless,  save  as  he  is 
the  recipient  of  truth,  virtue,  and  happiness  from 
above.  He  is  worthless  unless  he  becomes  an  object 
and  a  vessel  of  divine  grace.  To  the  humanist  both 
nature  and  man  are  valuable  and  beautiful  for  their 
own  sake,  the  recognition  of  which  is  the  charm  of  the 
ancient  classics. 

Humanism  is  a  protest  against  other-worldliness :  its 
interest  is  here,  not  beyond  the  stars.  It  sets  for  itself 
the  task  of  subduing  the  earth,  controlling  the  forces 
of  nature,  discovering  and  exploring  unknown  lands. 
The  joy  of  life  is  in  overcoming  lifers  difficulties,  solv¬ 
ing  life’s  problems,  and  making  the  desert  blossom  as 
the  rose.  This  ‘Vale  of  tears”  is  turned  into  a  field 
of  action  for  the  harmonious  development  and  dis¬ 
ciplining  of  all  the  latent  tendencies  and  powers  of 
men,  with  true  and  free  personality  as  the  supreme  aim 

'  “History  of  Freedom  of  Thought,”  p.  229. 

See  Ellwood,  “The  Reconstruction  of  Religion,”  pp.  59-^. 


THE  WAY  OF  THE  HUMANISTS  223 

and  end.  The  humanist’s  ideal  of  life  is,  therefore, 
not  self-denial  and  self-suppression,  but  self-affirma¬ 
tion  and  self-expression. 

Humanism  refuses  to  submit  to  domineering  au¬ 
thority,  intellectual,  political,  social,  or  ecclesiastical. 
It  seeks  to  emancipate  itself  from  traditions  and 
dogmas  of  church  and  state,  and  does  not  shrink  from 
putting  to  the  test  of  rational  criticism  the  most  vener¬ 
able  rules  of  conduct,  ways  of  thinking,  and  modes  of 
government.  Forms — which  ostensibly  are  a  means 
of  access  to  reality,  but  actually  prove  to  be  barriers — 
are  readily  discarded.  There  is  nothing  that  the  hu¬ 
manist  fears  to  face ;  nothing  that  he  does  not  attempt 
to  recast  according  to  his  own  ideas. 

In  scholarship  humanism  puts  the  littem  humaniores 
in  place  of  the  littem  diviniores,  prefers  the  arts  and 
sciences  to  theology  and  dogmas,  and  turns  to  nature 
and  historical  sources  instead  of  to  authorities  and 
traditions.  It  is  ready  to  appropriate  all  knowledge 
from  every  source,  and  to  enjoy  all  beauty  wherever 
found.  It  glories  in  achievements,  in  dominion  and 
fame,  and  with  an  unblushing  egotism  accepts  self- 
affirmation,  self-confidence,  and  self-advancement  as 
the  legitimate  aim  of  life.  The  ruler  is  proud  of  his 
power,  the  statesman  of  his  diplomacy  and  eloquence, 
the  poet  or  sculptor  of  the  mastery  of  his  art,  the 
gentleman  in  society  of  his  graceful  manner  and  his 
aesthetic  and  social  accomplishments. 

In  religion  humanism  always  stresses  the  ability  of 
the  natural  man  in  the  process  of  salvation.  He  may 
attempt  to  save  himself  without  the  help  of  the  divine, 
or  he  may  depend  partly  on  himself  and  partly  on  God, 
but  the  human  factor  always  plays  a  prominent  part. 
Salvation  by  free  grace  the  humanist  cannot  under- 


224 


CHRISTIAN  WAYS  OF  SALVATION 


stand,  nor  does  he  appreciate  the  fact  that  ‘^to  make 
humanity  the  measure  of  goodness  and  truth  is 
inwardly  to  destroy  both/^ 

Amiel  ^  says : 

Christianity  brings  and  preaches  salvation  by  the  con¬ 
version  of  the  will, — humanism  by  the  emancipation  of  the 
mind.  One  attacks  the  heart,  the  other  the  brain.  Both 
wish  to  enable  man  to  reach  his  ideal.  But  the  ideal  differs, 
if  not  by  its  content,  at  least  by  the  disposition  of  its  con¬ 
tent,  by  the  predominance  and  sovereignty  given  to  this 
or  that  inner  power.  For  one,  the  mind  is  the  organ  of  the 
soul;  for  the  other,  the  soul  is  an  inferior  state  of  the  mind; 
the  one  wishes  to  enlighten  by  making  better,  the  other  to 
make  better  by  enlightening.  It  is  the  difference  between 
Socrates  and  Jesus.  .  .  .  The  negative  part  of  the  human¬ 
ist’s  work  is  good;  it  will  strip  Christianity  of  an  outer 
shell,  which  has  become  superfluous;  but  Ruge  and  Feuer¬ 
bach  cannot  save  humanity. 

Humanism  reached  its  highest  development  in 
Greece.  Of  all  the  nations  of  antiquity,  the  Greeks 
were  the  most  zealous  for  the  intellectual  mastery  of 
nature,  history,  art,  literature,  ethics,  and  politics. 
Their  theory  of  life  was,  that  man  is  to  know  and 
to  do:  his  action  is  to  be  controlled  by  knowledge,  and 
his  knowledge  is  to  complete  itself  in  action.  They 
thought  of  the  whole  realm  of  being  as  controlled  by 
law,  which  man  is  to  discover  and  to  which  he  is  to  con¬ 
form.  A  fragment  of  Euripides  speaks  of  a  man  as 
^^happy,  who  has  learned  to  search  into  causes,”  and 
^Vho  discerns  the  deathless  and  ageless  order  of  na¬ 
ture,  whence  it  arose,  the  how  and  the  why.”  ^  In  the 
later  stage  of  his  religious  development  the  Greek  was 
disposed  to  seek  salvation  by  the  way  of  self-conquest 

*  Journal,  April  7,  1851,  pp.  15-16.  Translation  by  Mrs.  Humphrey 
Ward. 

*  Quoted  by  Butcher,  “Some  Aspects  of  the  Greek  Genius,”  p.  10. 


THE  WAY  OF  THE  HUMANISTS 


225 


of  the  wiU  guided  by  the  reason.  This  was  the  Greek 
ideal  from  Socrates  onward.  To  live  normally  is  to 
live  in  harmony  with  the  transcendent  reason,  and  to 
be  in  the  way  of  redemption. 

When  the  intellect  and  the  will  of  men  are  sup¬ 
pressed  by  political,  religious,  or  scholastic  authority, 
the  spirit  of  humanism  rises  in  revolt  and  demands 
freedom  to  work  out  life  in  one’s  own  way.  There  was 
such  a  revolt  in  Greece  in  the  fifth  century,  when  the 
Sophists,  who  were  followed  by  Socrates,  affirmed  a 
rational,  over  against  a  mythological,  view  of  the 
world.  They  entered  vigorous  protest  against  the 
domination  of  pedantic,  abstruse,  and  sterile  specula¬ 
tions  without  basis  in  fact  or  reason.  This  movement 
in  Greece  was  followed,  long  afterwards,  in  the  middle 
age,  by  a  similar  uprising  of  the  reason  and  conscience. 
This  later  movement  was  a  protest  against  traditional¬ 
ism,  dogmatism,  and  tyranny  in  the  form  of  medieval 
imperiahsm  and  papacy.  It  was  inspired  in  part  by 
the  revival  of  Greek  letters  and  the  classic  ideals  of 
life.  The  humanist  went  backward  to  go  forward, 
backward  to  Greece  and  Palestine  to  go  forward  into 
individualism,  nationalism,  and  denominationalism. 
He  became  a  reformer  in  church  and  state,  and  pre¬ 
pared  the  way  for  a  new  era  in  history.  Among  the 
humanists  of  the  fifteenth  century  there  were  pagans. 
Catholics,  and  Evangelicals,  each  with  a  distinctive 
conception  of  life  and  of  religion.  The  rationalists  of 
the  eighteenth  century  were  the  lineal  descendants  of 
the  humanists  of  the  fifteenth;  and  to-day,  perhaps 
more  than  ever,  men  are  controlled  by  their  ideals. 

It  is  our  purpose  to  show  how,  in  the  history  of 
Christianity,  the  idea  of  salvation  was  affected  by  the 
humanistic  spirit. 


226 


CHRISTIAN  WAYS  OF  SALVATION 


II 

Two  types  of  interpretation  of  Christianity,  grow¬ 
ing  out  of  different  conceptions  of  the  way  of  salva¬ 
tion,  run  parallel  in  the  history  of  the  Church  from 
apostolic  to  modern  days.  '  The  one  may  be  termed 
humanistic,  and  the  other  evangelical.  The  Catholic 
is  a  compromise  between  the  two,  resulting  in  legalism 
and  sacramentalism  under  the  control  of  sacerdotalism. 
The  compromise  becomes  evident  in  the  doctrine  of 
salvation  by  faith  and  works,  by  grace  and  law,  which 
becomes  the  formative  principle  in  every  detail  of 
Catholic  ecclesiasticism. 

The  humanist  groups,  each  more  or  less  directly 
related  to  the  others  and  all  of  them  together  main¬ 
taining  a  continuity  through  the  centuries,  are  the 
Jewish  Christians,  the  Arians,  the  Pelagians,  the 
Erasmians,  the  Socinians,  the  Rationalists,  and  the 
Unitarians.  Of  these  the  Arians,  the  Pelagians,  and 
the  Erasmians  leaned  toward  Catholicism;  the  Jewish 
Christians  were  pre-Catholic ;  the  Socinians,  the  Ra¬ 
tionalists,  and  the  Unitarians  were  aggressively  anti- 
Catholic. 

The  parallel  groups,  more  or  less  evangelical,  were 
the  Pauline  Christians,  the  Athanasians,  the  Augustin- 
ians,  the  Lutherans  and  the  Calvinists,  the  Wesleyans 
and  the  modem  evangelicals.  Of  these  the  Pauline 
Christians  were  pre-Catholic;  the  Athanasians  and 
Augustinians  were  pro-Catholic ;  the  Lutherans,  Cal¬ 
vinists,  Wesleyans,  and  modern  Evangelicals  were  anti- 
Catholic.  Of  the  two  groups  of  Christianity,  the  hu¬ 
manistic  has  always  been  considered  heterodox  and 
the  evangelical  orthodox;  and  the  humanists  have 


THE  WAY  OF  THE  HUMANISTS  227 

always  been  in  the  minority,  and  the  evangelicals  in 
the  majority. 

The  point  at  issue  between  the  two  (and  here  it 
will  be  convenient  to  compare  with  them  the  third 
type,  the  Catholic),  is  raised  in  the  question.  What 
must  I  do  to  be  saved?  This  was  naturally  the  first 
question  to  arise  in  the  early  Christian  community, 
and  then  already  it  divided,  rather  than  united,  the 
fellowship  of  the  original  disciples.  Ever  since  that 
time  it  has  been  a  live  issue  in  the  Church :  indeed,  the 
great  controversies  and  divisions  of  the  several  ages 
grew  out  of  the  difference  in  the  answers  to  this  fun¬ 
damental  question.  Different  answers  involved  con¬ 
flicting  views  of  the  person  and  work  of  Christ,  of  the 
nature  and  character  of  God,  and  of  the  motive  of  the 
Christian  life. 

Whether  the  way  of  salvation  is  to  be  classed  as 
humanistic,  catholic,  or  evangelical,  depends  upon  the 
relative  parts  given  to  divine  grace  and  human  merit 
in  the  redemptive  process.  Which  of  the  two  factors 
predominates,  the  divine  or  the  human?  Is  the  initia¬ 
tive  for  salvation  in  God,  or  in  man?  Is  salvation  an 
act  of  God  for  man,  or  an  act  of  man  for  God?  or,  is 
it  partly  of  God  and  partly  of  man?  Which  is  pri¬ 
mary,  human  merit  or  divine  grace,  morality  or  re¬ 
ligion,  the  ability  or  the  depravity  of  man,  human  free¬ 
dom  or  divine  election,  works  or  faith,  law  or  love, 
reward  or  gift?  Is  Jesus  lawgiver  and  example,  or 
Savior  and  Lord?  Is  there  unity,  or  trinity,  in  the 
Deity?  Do  we  live  the  Christian  life  in  order  to 
be  saved,  or  because  we  are  saved?  In  other  words 
is  character  the  cause,  or  is  it  the  effect,  of 
salvation? 

All  these  questions  were  involved,  though  by  no 


228  CHRISTIAN  WAYS  OF  SALVATION 

means  clearly  comprehended,  in  the  controversy  be¬ 
tween  Paul  and  the  Jewish  Christians. 

Ill 

The  latter  resolved  Christianity  into  a  revised  and 
improved  Judaism  blending  the  law  of  Moses  and  the 
gospel  in  a  way  of  salvation  by  works  and  faith.  Paul, 
on  the  contrary,  proclaimed  Christianity  as  a  new  way 
of  salvation,  superseding  the  way  of  Moses,  when  he 
boldly  declared  that  ‘‘Christ  is  the  end  of  the  law  unto 
righteousness  to  every  one  that  beheveth’^  (Romans 
10:4).  Here  are  two  ways  which  cannot  be  reconciled, 
and  bitter  controversy  between  those  who  hold  them 
is  bound  to  follow.  The  story  of  such  controversy  is 
written  over  a  large  part  of  the  New  Testament. 

The  occasion  for  strife  was  Paul’s  Gentile  mission; 
mutterings  of  it,  however,  were  heard  almost  from  the 
beginning.  Certain  men,  we  are  told,  came  from  Judea 
to  Antioch,  where  the  gospel  was  first  preached  to  the 
Greeks  also  (Acts  11:20),  and  taught  the  brethren, 
saying,  “Except  ye  be  circumcised  after  the  custom  of 
Moses,  ye  can  not  be  saved”  (Acts  15:1).  When  Paul 
and  Barnabas,  by  appointment  of  the  brethren, 
brought  the  question  before  the  apostles  and  elders 
at  Jerusalem,  they  found  formidable  advocates  of  the 
Mosaic  requirement:  “there  rose  up  certain  of  the 
sect  of  the  Pharisees  who  believed,  saying.  It  is  need¬ 
ful  to  circumcise  them  [the  Gentiles]  and  to  charge 
them  to  keep  the  law  of  Moses”  (Acts  15:5).  The 
members  of  this  group  are  referred  to  in  the  epistle  to 
the  Galatians  as  “false  brethren  privily  brought  in, 
who  came  in  privily  to  spy  out  our  liberty”  (2:4). 
Even  Peter  and  Barnabas  began  to  dissemble,  “fearing 


THE  WAY  OF  THE  HUMANISTS 


229 


them  that  were  of  the  circumcision.”  Then  Paul  arose, 
as  a  man  in  wrath,  and  said:  ^‘We  being  Jews  by 
nature,  and  not  sinners  of  the  Gentiles,  yet  knowing 
that  a  man  is  not  justified  by  the  works  of  the  law  but 
through  faith  in  Jesus  Christ,  even  we  believed  on 
Christ  Jesus,  that  we  might  be  justified  by  faith  in 
Christ,  and  not  by  the  works  of  the  law”  (Galatians 
2:15,  16). 

Thus  the  issue  was  clearly  stated  between  humanism 
or  compromising  Catholicism  on  the  one  hand,  and 
evangelicalism  on  the  other.  Two  distinct  ways  of 
salvation  were  advanced;  and  these,  in  one  form  or 
another,  have  divided  Christians  ever  since.  The  one 
gives  preeminence  to  the  will  of  man,  obedience  to  law, 
and  salvation  as  a  reward  of  merit.  The  other  depends 
wholly  upon  divine  grace,  appropriated  by  faith,  and 
accepts  salvation  as  a  free  gift  and  not  as  a  reward. 
The  Jewish  Christians  reduced  Jesus  to  a  lawgiver  and  * 
an  example,  a  new  Moses;  continued  to  worship  God 
as  the  one  supreme  being,  dwelling  in  solitude  far 
removed  from  men;  and  lived  the  Christian  life,  not 
because  they  were  saved,  but  in  order  that  they  might 
be  saved.  They  were  servants  working  for  wages;  the 
Pauline  Christians  were  sons  rejoicing  in  an  inheritance 
incorruptible  and  undefiled,  and  that  fadeth  not  away. 

Paul  was  among  the  first  to  proclaim  Jesus  as  Lord 
and  God.  He  beheld  in  his  face  the  glory  of  the 
Father.  He  experienced  the  grace  of  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ  and  the  love  of  God  and  the  communion  of  the 
Holy  Spirit  (II  Corinthians  13:14).^  He  lived  his  life 
as  a  sacrifice  of  thanksgiving  for  the  redemption  which 

“  It  is  worth  mentioning  here  that  Harnack  says :  “The  confession 
of  Father,  Son,  and  Spirit  has  nothing  to  do  with  Greek  philosophy 
or  any  other  philosophy  or  ‘wisdom’;  it  already  belongs  to  the 
earliest  church;  it  is  the  essence  of  the  Christian  religion  in  its 


230  CHRISTIAN  WAYS  OF  SALVATION 

he  freely  received.  It  is  no  longer  I  that  live,  but 
Christ  liveth  in  me  (Galatians  2:20). 

About  the  time  of  Paul,  or  in  the  generation  follow¬ 
ing  him,  there  grew  up  on  Gentile  soil  another  group 
of  legalists.  It  was  composed  of  converts  of  the  Jews 
of  the  dispersion  and  of  the  Gentiles.  They  were  in 
spirit  closely  related  to  the  Jewish  Christians,  and 
yet  were  influenced  by  the  universahsm  of  Paul,  with¬ 
out  comprehending  his  doctrine  of  salvation  by  grace. 
They  were  quite  ready  to  give  up  the  ceremonial  and 
sacrificial  laws,  and  to  resolve  Christianity  into  a 
divinely  revealed  way  of  life  blending  the  moral  law 
of  the  Old  Testament  and  the  teachings  of  Jesus.  The 
gospel,  accordingly,  was  to  be  proclaimed  to  all  men 
as  a  revelation  of  the  supreme  God,  a  divine  law  of 
life,  and  an  assurance  of  final  judgment  with  rewards 
for  the  just  and  punishment  for  the  wicked.  Jesus 
was  regarded  as  Messiah  because  he  was  the  revealer 
of  the  law  and  the  judge  of  men.  This  was  a  com¬ 
promise  between  law  and  gospel  which  might  be  equally 
attractive  to  the  liberal  Jew  and  the  Stoic  philosopher, 
and  which  became  the  basis  of  ancient  Catholicism. 
It  appropriated  the  terminology  of  Paul,  without  pass¬ 
ing  through  his  experience  of  salvation,  in  the  light 
of  which  his  epistles  must  be  explained.  The  congre¬ 
gation  at  Rome  was  of  this  group;  and,  apparently, 
the  great  majority  of  Christians  in  Gentile  lands  in 
the  second  century. 

At  the  close  of  this  century  these  two  types,  the 
one  teaching  salvation  as  a  reward  of  obedience,  the 
other  as  the  transformation  of  man^s  nature  by  divine 
grace,  were  fused  in  the  teachings  of  Irenaeus,  who 

objective  aspect,  and  it  marks  the  severance  of  Christianity  from 
Judaism.” — “Constitution  and  Law  of  the  Church,”  p.  252,  footnote. 


THE  WAY  OF  THE  HUMANISTS 


231 


made  both  elements  necessary  for  salvation.  Thus  he 
laid  the  foundation  of  the  theology  and  the  sacra¬ 
mental  mysteries  and  the  penitential  discipline  of  the 
Catholic  Church. 

IV 

The  controversy  between  Paul  and  the  Jewish 
Christians  was  twice  fought  over  in  the  ancient  Church, 
amidst  different  surroundings,  at  different  times,  and 
by  different  men.  The  first  time  the  battle  royal  was 
waged  by  Athanasius  against  Arius  in  the  fourth  cen¬ 
tury;  the  second  time  by  Augustine  against  Pelagius 
in  the  fifth  century.  At  bottom  the  issue  was  the  same, 
— whether  salvation  was  primarily  a  work  of  God,  or 
a  work  of  man. 

On  the  surface,  the  point  in  dispute  between 
Athanasius  and  Arius  was  the  relation  of  the  Logos 
incarnate  to  the  supreme  God.  Was  Christ  essentially 
God,  or  was  he  a  creature  of  God?  This  question  it¬ 
self  grew  out  of  the  conception  of  redemption,  and 
upon  the  answer  depended  the  character  of  Chris¬ 
tianity, — whether  it  was  a  religion  of  salvation,  or  a 
system  of  ethical  culture. 

If  Jesus,  as  Arius  held,  gradually  became  God,  or, 
in  other  words,  if  he  was  developing,  struggling 
Christ,’’  then  he  could  not  rise  to  the  height  of  a  Re¬ 
deemer,  but  remained  on  the  plane  of  a  teacher  and 
example,  with  the  aid  of  whose  precept  and  practice 
men  were  to  save  themselves.  The  christology  of 
Arius  is  the  logical  outcome  of  his  soteriology.  As 
teacher  and  example  Jesus  need  not  be  more  than  a 
creature,  the  highest  of  all  creatures.  And  if  he  is 
a  creature,  the  Creator  is  one,  and  the  trinitarian 
problem  does  not  arise. 


232 


CHRISTIAN  WAYS  OF  SALVATION 


Athanasius  proclaims  his  message  in  a  single  state¬ 
ment, — which  became  the  rock  upon  which  he  built  his 
faith  and  life, — in  Christ  God  himself  entered  hu¬ 
manity.  This  view  of  Jesus  was  indispensable,  if  he 
was  to  be  an  efficient  Savior.  It  was  required  by  the 
Greek  conception  of  redemption.  For  God  alone,  in 
human  nature,  can  deliver  man  from  the  mortal  estate 
into  which  he  has  fallen  through  sin,  and  transform 
him  into  the  state  of  immortality.  The  Pauhne  idea 
was  preserved,  though  under  a  greatly  modified  form, 
that  men  are  saved  by  God  in  Christ, — that  salvation 
is  a  work  of  God  and  not  an  attainment  of  man.  Har- 
nack  says : 

Athanasius  saved  the  faith  of  the  Church  from  complete 
secularization  by  reaffirming  the  old  conviction  that  men 
are  redeemed  by  God  himself,  through  the  Godman,  one  in 
essence  with  God.  While  his  doctrine  of  Christ  and  God 
was  not  rational,  and  was  regarded  by  the  Greeks  as  a 
stumbling  block,  he  nevertheless  kept  Christianity  from 
becoming  a  mere  philosophy  and  a  code  of  morals,  i.e.,  from 
complete  Hellenization.® 

Jesus  is  more  than  example  or  teacher:  he  is  Savior, 
and  imparts  to  men  a  new  life  which  enables  them  to 
imitate  the  example  of  the  teacher,  and  to  understand 
and  obey  him.  According  to  Athanasius,  Jesus  be¬ 
longs  in  every  sense  to  the  sphere  of  God,  whose  sub¬ 
stance  he  shares;  and  the  trinitarian  definition  of  God 
is  the  necessary  outcome  of  his  conception  of  salvation. 
That  is,  the  doctrine  of  the  Trinity  is  an  experience  of 
salvation  by  God  in  Christ,  before  it  is  wrought  into 
a  formula  in  the  language  of  the  redeemed. 

When  we  pass  from  the  fourth  century  to  the  fifth, 
and  from  Greece  to  the  Latin  West,  we  find  a  renewal 


^“Grundriss  der  D.  G.,”  p.  161. 


THE  WAY  OF  THE  HUMANISTS 


233 


of  the  Arian  controversy  by  different  persons,  in  a  dif¬ 
ferent  language,  and  in  the  sphere  of  soteriology.  The 
two  protagonists,  Augustine  and  Pelagius,  were  widely 
apart  in  temper  and  experience,  though  equally  de¬ 
voted  to  the  cause  of  Christ  and  the  Church.  The  dis¬ 
putation  revolved  around  the  grace  of  God,  and  the 
ability  and  freedom  of  man,  in  the  process  of  salvation. 
Pelagius  affirmed  man’s  ability;  Augustine,  his  de¬ 
pravity.  Pelagius  made  salvation  depend  on  human 
effort,  Augustine  on  divine  grace.  Pelagius  held  that 
God’s  grace  in  Christ  was  not  absolutely  necessary, 
before  and  after  baptism,  for  the  salvation  of  every 
man.  This  position  was  denied  by  Augustine,  and 
was  generally  rejected  by  the  Church,  though  in  a 
modified  form  it  lived  on  in  Catholicism. 

Pelagius  failed  to  comprehend  the  nature  of  grace,  ‘ 
and,  therefore,  also  of  sin.  He  was  controlled  by  the 
idea  that  the  grace  of  God  amounted  to  the  gift  of 
free  will  to  man,  a  gift  which  was  impaired  by  sin  but 
not  destroyed.  Man  was  to  develop  it  by  constant 
exercise  in  righteousness  under  the  oversight  and  dis¬ 
cipline  of  the  Church.  Pelagius  ^^abandoned  in  spite  of 
all  accommodations  in  expression  the  pole  of  the 
mystical  doctrine  of  redemption  which  the  Church  had 
steadfastly  maintained  side  by  side  with  the  doctrine  of 
freedom.”  ^ 

The  fundamental  notion  of  Augustine  was  the  de¬ 
pravity  and  helplessness  of  man  through  the  Fall,  and 
the  necessity  of  divine  grace  through  Christ,  for  the 
salvation  of  the  sinner  and  for  the  sanctification  of 
the  saved. 

It  is  clear  that  the  christology  and  theology  of  Arius 
correspond  to  the  soteriology  of  Pelagius,  while  the 

’Harnack,  “History  of  Dogma,”  Eng.  trans.,  V.  p.  203. 


234 


CHRISTIAN  WAYS  OF  SALVATION 


christology  and  theology  of  Athanasius  correspond  to 
the  soteriology  of  Augustine.  The  doctrine  of  the 
deity  of  Jesus  and  the  trinity  of  the  Deity  is  insepa¬ 
rably  related  to  the  experience  of  redemption  by  divine 
grace.  Yet  one  must  not  forget  that  the  Pauline  views 
of  both  Athanasius  and  Augustine  were  seriously 
modified  and  neutralized  by  Catholic  ideas  which  were 
far  removed  from  Paul. 


V 

The  term  humanism  is  generally  applied  to  the  lit¬ 
erary,  artistic,  and  religious  movement  beginning  in 
Italy,  and  spreading  over  Western  Europe  in  the  period 
extending  from  the  thirteenth  into  the  sixteenth  cen¬ 
tury.  This  was  the  time  of  transition  from  the 
medieval  to  the  modern  age.  There  was  a  revival  of 
the  ancient  classics,  a  decline  of  absolutism  in  church 
and  state,  an  emancipation  of  the  individual,  and  an 
affirmation  of  men  to  think,  to  act,  and  to  live  in  the 
light  of  reason  and  conscience.  It  was  a  plea  for  a 
return  to  nature,  long  before  Rousseau  raised  the  cry. 

Naturally,  in  a  period  like  this  men  of  various  types 
are  produced,  some  radical,  some  mediating,  and  some 
conservative. 

The  radicals  were  inclined  to  cut  loose  from  the 
Church  and  the  traditions  of  the  past,  and  to  live  their 
lives  without  regard  for  religious,  ethical,  or  social 
sanctions.  They  were  sufficient  unto  themselves. 
They  were  neo-pagans  who  turned  their  liberty  into 
license,  and  revived  not  only  the  virtues,  but  also  the 
vices,  of  the  ancients.  They  were  both  free  thinkers 
and  loose  livers.  Their  art  was  degraded  by  their 
sensuality,  and  their  knowledge  was  turned  into 


THE  WAY  OF  THE  HUMANISTS 


235 


pedantry.  In  letters  they  indulged  in  stilted  rhetoric 
and  fulsome  panegyric.  They  lacked  both  moral  zeal 
and  spiritual  power  to  cure  the  deep-seated  ills  of  their 
time. 

There  were  others,  however,  who  united  culture  and 
religion,  and  sincerely  worked  for  a  reform  of  the 
Church  from  head  to  members.  Some  of  these  re¬ 
mained  in  the  Catholic  Church,  prince  among  whom 
was  Erasmus,  and  others  cast  their  lot  with  evangelical 
Reformers,  notably  Melanchthon  and  Leo  Jude.  The 
Catholic  humanists  were  scholars,  poets,  artists,  his¬ 
torians,  philologists;  and  sought  a  reconciliation  of 
human  learning  and  divine  revelation,  of  the  phi¬ 
losophy  of  the  Greeks  and  the  doctrines  of  the  Church. 
They  founded  Platonic  academies  in  Italy,  and  men 
like  Cardinal  Bessarion,  Marsiglio  Ficino,  Pico  della 
Mirandola,  took  pride  in  being  Christian  Platonists. 
In  this  group  were  men  whose  purpose  it  was  to  reform 
the  Church  by  reviving  and  restoring  the  doctrines  and 
institutions  of  the  apostles  and  the  ancient  Fathers. 
Their  slogan  was  ad  fontes — to  the  sources,  back  to 
nature,  back  to  the  classics,  back  to  the  Bible  and  the 
Fathers.  In  all  this  they  revealed  a  new  attitude  of 
mind  toward  religion  and  reality  in  general.  They 
were  in  quest  of  internal  conviction  of  truth,  in  place 
of  servile  submission  to  external  authority.  They 
aimed  to  put  personal  and  experimental  religion,  flow¬ 
ing  from  direct  contact  with  the  source  of  it,  in  place 
of  dogmas  and  ordinances  supernaturally  attested. 
Their  reform,  however,  was  to  be  wrought  gradually 
by  illumination,  not  violently  by  revolution.  While 
Erasmus  was  easily  the  leader  of  them  all,  he  was 
supported  by  Colet  and  More  in  England,  Buddseus 
and  Lefevre  in  France,  and  by  Staupitz,  Thomas 


236  CHRISTIAN  WAYS  OF  SALVATION 

Murner,  Jerome  Emser,  Conrad  Mutianus,  and  George 
Spalatin  in  Germany. 

The  evangelical  humanists  were  men  of  the  new 
learning  who  left  the  Roman  Church  and  associated 
with  Luther,  Zwingli,  and  Calvin.  Among  them  were 
Melanchthon,  Leo  Jude,  and  a  number  of  notable 
French,  German,  and  Swiss  scholars. 

Hitherto,  as  we  have  seen,  humanism  in  Christianity 
was  either  pre-Catholic,  pro-Catholic,  or  anti-Catholic. 
With  the  rise  of  the  evangelical  Reformers  it  became 
necessary  to  differentiate  between  Evangelicalism  and 
Humanism, — a  distinction  which  has  to  be  made  al¬ 
ways,  if  evangelical  Christianity  is  to  continue  true 
to  its  original  ideals.  In  many  points  the  Reformers 
agreed  with  the  humanists  and  were  deeply  indebted 
to  them,  yet  in  spirit  they  differed  from  them  to  such 
a  degree  that  in  time  the  two  had  to  part  company  and 
go  their  several  ways. 

There  is,  after  all  is  said,  a  wide  difference  between 
an  evangelical  reformer  and  a  humanistic  purifier  of 
the  Church, — a  difference  which  the  humanist  usually 
fails  to  understand.  He  depends  upon  scholarship,  his¬ 
torical  knowledge,  philosophical  reflection,  and  moral 
precepts,  to  reform  church  and  state :  he  would  reform 
by  education  and  culture.  Erasmus  furnishes  a  bril¬ 
liant  example  of  the  strength  and  the  weakness  of 
reform  based  upon  mere  scholarship  and  culture.  A 
criticism  of  religion  and  a  revision  of  doctrine  and  life, 
without  a  new  vision  of  God  and  a  closer  fellowship 
with  him,  inevitably  end  in  rationalism  and  moralism, 
without  actual  advance  to  a  higher  and  better  order  of 
life. 

The  Reformers  differed  fundamentally  from  the 
humanists  in  their  response  to  the  deepest  needs  of  the 


THE  WAY  OF  THE  HUMANISTS 


237 


soul, — the  need  of  man’s  justification  before  God  and 
God’s  justification  before  man.  The  former  had  a 
deep  sense  of  man’s  insufficiency  and  of  his  dependence 
upon  God;  the  latter  had  a  proud  feeling  of  man’s 
self-sufficiency  and  his  independence  of  God.  The  Ref¬ 
ormation  was  essentially  a  religious  movement,  and' 
was  led  by  prophets;  humanism  was  essentially  a 
philosophical  and  aesthetic  movement,  and  was  led  by 
scholars  and  artists.  The  Reformers  went  out  of  the 
Catholic  Church  because  it  failed  to  satisfy  their  re¬ 
ligious  needs.  The  humanists  ignored  the  Catholic 
Church  because  they  had  no  religious  needs  to  satisfy. 
The  Reformers  felt  the  need  of  a  savior;  the  humanists 
felt  no  need  of  a  savior,  because  they  could  save  them¬ 
selves.  The  one  could  not,  without  self-stultification, 
remain  in  the  Catholic  Church ;  the  other,  to  save  him¬ 
self  from  irksome  annoyances,  readily  acquiesced  in 
the  established  order,  but  lived  his  life  unrestrained  by 
its  laws  and  customs. 

The  evangelical  Reformers  were  forced  to  separate 
themselves  from  the  two  wings  of  religious  humanism : 
from  the  one  represented  by  Erasmus,  who  was  an 
avowed  Catholic;  and  from  The  other  represented  by 
Socinians,  who  were  staunch  Protestants  but  not  evan¬ 
gelical.  The  issue  in  controversy  with  both  these 
forms  of  humanism  was  the  way  of  salvation. 

After  long  hesitation  Erasmus  yielded  to  the  urgent 
solicitations  of  his  friends  and  patrons, — the  pope,  the 
emperor.  Bang  Henry  VIII, — and  his  literary  col¬ 
leagues,  and  declared  himself  against  Luther.  He  di¬ 
rected  his  attack  against  the  point  which  undoubtedly 
determines  the  ultimate  difference  between  evangelical 
Protestantism  and  Roman  Catholicism,  namely,  the 
part  the  human  will  plays  in  salvation.  His  tract 


238 


CHRISTIAN  WAYS  OF  SALVATION 


against  Luther  was,  accordingly,  entitled,  De  libero 
arbitrio,  ''On  the  Freedom  of  the  Will.''  Luther,  in  his 
emphasis  on  total  depravity  and  the  efficacy  of  divine 
grace  alone,  went  so  far  as  to  say  that  "all  works  of  the 
saints  are  sins;  free  will  is  an  empty  name;  by  faith 
alone  are  we  justified."  ®  Statements  like  these  Eras¬ 
mus  called  aenigmata  absurda,  absurd  enigmas.  In 
his  tract  he  claimed  that  a  man  is  free  to  accept  or  to 
reject  the  grace  of  God;  that  grace  does  not  supersede, 
but  stimulates,  man's  will.  Thus  he  tried  to  find  a 
middle  way  between  Manichean  fatalism  and  Pelagian 
self-sufficiency.  He  concluded  that  grace  is  in  the  be¬ 
ginning  and  in  the  end,  while  free-will  is  in  the  middle, 
of  the  process  of  salvation.  In  other  words,  Erasmus 
reduced  salvation  to  an  act  of  man,  assisted  by 
the  grace  of  God  offered  in  Christ  through  the 
Church. 

Luther  replied  in  a  tract  entitled,  De  servo  arbitrio, 
— in  German  translation,  Dos  der  Freie  Wille  nichts 
sei, — that  "there  is  no  free  will."  He  held  that  the 
will  of  man  is  not  capable  of  any  good.  "On  account 
of  this  evil  in  man,"  he  says,  "he  can  do  absolutely 
nothing  for  his  own  salvation;  everything  is  from  God. 
To  assert  anything  else  is  Pelagianism.  Man  is  passive, 
God  alone  is  active.  There  is  no  middle  ground. 
Either  that  or  Pelagianism.  Besides,  anything  else 
destroys  the  certainty  of  salvation.  We  can  never 
know  when  we  have  done  enough,  unless  all  comes 
from  God;  but  the  ever  all-working  God  is  the  sure 
rock  of  our  salvation."  ^ 

Salvation,  according  to  Luther,  is  an  act  of  God 


®  Omnia  opera  sanctorum  esse  peccata ;  liberum  arbitrium  esse 
nomen  inane;  sola  fide  justificari. 

^  Quoted  by  Faulkner,  “Erasmus,”  p.  175. 


THE  WAY  OF  THE  HUMANISTS 


239 


through  Christ  in  behalf  of  sinful  man,  and  is  appro¬ 
priated  by  faith  alone.  This  conviction  he  reached 
through  a  study  of  Paul’s  writings  and  through  his  own 
experience  of  salvation.  Erasmus  he  considered  a  pagan 
and  an  epicurean. This  is  the  essence  of  evangelical 
Christianity;  and  from  this  standpoint  it  must  always 
view,  criticize,  and  protest  against,  all  kinds  and  de¬ 
grees  of  humanism. 

As  far  as  his  way  of  salvation  is  concerned,  Erasmus 
might  as  well  have  joined  with  the  Socinians  as  with 
the  Catholics.  He  was  a  humanist  with  Catholic 
sympathies,  but  at  a  later  day  he  might  easily  have 
become  a  Unitarian  with  evangelical  inclinations. 
Froude,  in  his  ^Uife  and  Letters  of  Erasmus,”  says: 
“His  dream  was  a  return  to  early  Christianity  as  it 
was  before  councils  had  laid  the  minds  of  men  in 
chains;  a  Christianity  of  practice,  not  of  opinion, 
where  the  Church  itself  might  leave  the  intellect  free 
to  think  as  it  pleased  on  the  inscrutable  mysteries.” 
The  humanistic  character  of  Erasmus’  interpretation 
of  Christianity  is  clearly  defined  by  Professor  Mc- 
Giffert  when  he  says: 

To  Erasmus  Christianity  was  primarily  an  ethical  sys¬ 
tem;  Christ  was  its  great  teacher  and  exemplar;  to  be  a 
Christian  meant  to  conduct  one’s  life  in  accordance  with 
the  principles  which  governed  him.  Jesus  appeared  in  the 
role  of  a  sage,  and  Christianity  under  the  aspect  of  a  moral 
philosophy  rather  than  a  religion  of  redemption.  .  .  .  The 
all  important  thing  is  love  for  one’s  fellows,  manifesting 
itself  in  charity,  sympathy,  and  forbearance.^^ 

his  Table-Talk  Luther  once  said:  “Res  et  verba  Phillipus, 
verba  sine  re  Erasmus;  res  sine  verbis  Lutherus;  nec  res  nec  verba 
Carolostadius.” 

”P.  206. 

^“Protestant  Thought  before  Kant,”  p.  11. 


240 


CHRISTIAN  WAYS  OF  SALVATION 


VI 

Another  form  of  Christian  humanism  developed  in 
Italy  under  the  leadership  of  men  who  came  to  be 
known  as  anti-trinitarians.  They  were  highly  edu¬ 
cated  physicians,  lawyers,  and  teachers,  belonging  to 
humanistic  circles  and  influenced  by  Neoplatonism. 
The  most  prominent  among  them  were  CamiUo, 
Renato,  Gentili,  Gribaldo,  Occhino,  Alciato,  Blandrata, 
Lselius  and  Faustus  Socinus,  and  Servetus,  who  was  a 
Spaniard.  They  were  bent  on  the  reform  of  the 
Church,  and  were  not  content  with  a  protest  against 
the  ignorance  and  immorality  of  clergy  and  people,  but 
undertook  a  drastic  criticism  of  the  fundamental  dog¬ 
mas  of  Christianity,  notably  the  trinity,  the  person  of 
Christ,  and  the  atonement.  They  discussed  these 
grave  questions  in  secret  meetings,  and  at  one  of  these, 
held  in  Venice,  September,  1550,  with  sixty  deputies 
present,  they  agreed  on  two  propositions,  as  follows: 
(1)  Christ  is  not  God,  but  man,  begotten  of  Joseph  and 
Mary,  but  full  of  divine  power;  (2)  Christ  died  to 
attain  the  righteousness  of  God,  i.e.,  to  reach  the  height 
of  his  goodness,  mercy,  and  promises.^  ^  In  their  doc¬ 
trine  of  Christ  they  wavered  between  Arianism,  Adop- 
tionism,  and  Sabellianism. 

The  movement  represents  an  intellectual  criticism 
of  dogma,  without  a  new  religious  experience  warrant¬ 
ing  criticism.  It  proceeded  from  Luther’s  sense  of  the 
insufficiency  and  corruption  of  the  Church,  but,  be¬ 
cause  it  lacked  his  religious  experience,  it  ended  in 
rationalism  and  moralism,  without  an  actual  advance 
beyond  Catholicism.  There  was  a  total  lack  of  ap¬ 
preciation  of  the  spiritual  values  of  ancient  dogmas, 

Moller-Kawerau,  K,  G.  III.  pp.  464,  465. 


THE  WAY  OF  THE  HUMANISTS 


241 


and  accordingly  not  only  the  intellectual  formulation 
but  the  spiritual  content  was  set  aside. 

Professor  Lindsay  says  of  the  men  of  this  group: 

They  were  all  men  who  had  been  driven  to  reject  the 
Roman  Church  because  of  its  corruptions  and  immoralities, 
and  who  had  no  conception  of  any  other  universal  Christian 
society.  Men  of  pure  lives,  pious  after  their  own  fashion, 
they  never  had  any  idea  of  what  lay  at  the  root  of  the 
Reformation  thought,  of  what  real  religion  was.  It  never 
dawned  on  them  that  the  sum  of  Christianity  is  the  God 
of  grace,  manifest  in  Christ,  accessible  to  every  believing 
soul,  and  unwavering  trust  on  man’s  part.  Their  interest 
in  religion  was  almost  exclusively  intellectual.^^ 

The  result  was  that,  in  spite  of  all  their  grammar, 
logic,  and  exegesis,  they  founded  only  a  school  instead 
of  a  church, — a  school  of  rational  doctrine  and  pure 
morals,  instead  of  a  community  of  believers  rejoicing 
in  their  salvation  by  the  grace  of  God. 

The  anti-trinitarian  movement  was  more  than  a 
passing  protest  against  Catholicism:  it  became  a  sepa¬ 
rate  organization,  known  as  the  Socinian,  which  in  one 
form  or  another  has  continued  to  the  present  time. 
Dorner  says:  ^‘The  intellectual  founder  of  Socinianism 
was  Lselius  Socinus.  His  nephew,  Faustus,  was  its 
ecclesiastical  organizer.^^ 

In  principle  the  evangelical  Reformers  and  the 
Socinians  differed  from  each  other  as  do  the  con¬ 
temporary  Evangelicals  and  Unitarians.  A  compari¬ 
son  of  these  two  types  of  Protestantism,  as  interpreted 
by  their  leaders  in  authoritative  statements,  will  throw 
light  not  only  on  their  past  relations,  but  also  on  pres¬ 
ent  theological  tendencies. 

Let  us  begin  with  a  consideration  of  the  training  and 

History  of  the  Reformation/’  II,  p,  425. 


242  CHRISTIAN  WAYS  OF  SALVATION 

religious  experience  of  Socinus  and  of  Luther,  the  one 
the  founder  of  Socinianism,  the  other  of  evangelical 
reform. 

Lselius  Socinus  was  ‘Lorn  to  wealth,  inheritor  of  a 
famous  name,  allied  in  blood  with  some  of  the  noblest 
families  of  Tuscany,  gifted  by  nature  with  a  disposition 
of  surpassing  charm  and  with  an  intellect  of  singular 
fineness  and  dexterity.’'  He  was  an  extensive  traveler, 
came  into  personal  contact  with  leading  Swiss,  English, 
and  German  reformers,  and  was  content  with  the  easy 
position  of  a  “gentleman  in  search  of  a  religion.” 

Luther  was  a  “peasant’s  son.”  He  grew  up  under 
the  strictest  sort  of  discipline  in  his  home,  school,  and 
church.  His  teachers  he  called  “tyrants,”  and  his 
schools  “prisons  and  hells.”  From  childhood  he  was 
intensely  religious.  In  the  university  he  was  genial, 
not  without  fondness  for  the  pleasures  of  student  life, 
yet  always  industrious,  serious,  and  religious.  Mathe- 
sius  says:  “He  began  his  studies  every  morning  with 
worship  in  the  church,  and  at  that  time  already  ob¬ 
served  the  maxim,  'Gut  gebef  ist  hath  studiert.'  ”  As 
he  grew  into  manhood,  the  problem  of  his  personal 
salvation  weighed  on  his  heart.  “0  wenn  wiltu  einmal 
fromm  werden  und  genug  thun  dass  du  einen  gnadigen 
Gott  kriegest?”  (When  will  you  become  pious  and 
do  enough  so  that  you  may  obtain  a  gracious  God?) 
was  the  question  that  disturbed  his  peace  by  day  and 
his  rest  by  night.  To  answer  it,  he  entered  the  mon¬ 
astery,  performed  the  most  menial  services,  invoked 
the  Virgin  and  the  saints,  frequented  the  confessional, 
celebrated  mass  in  the  Lateran  Church  at  Rome, — and 
yet  God  remained  a  stern  Judge,  whom  he  was  disposed 
to  dread,  rather  than  to  seek  with  confidence  and  joy. 

Light  dawned  upon  him  from  the  Scriptures.  Paul 


THE  WAY  OF  THE  HUMANISTS 


243 


became  his  guide  unto  Christ.  ^‘God  in  His  great 
mercy/’  he  says,  ^Tevealed  to  me  that  what  Paul  and 
the  gospel  proclaimed  was  a  righteousness  given  freely 
to  us  by  the  grace  of  God,  who  forgives  those  who  have 
faith  in  His  message  of  mercy  and  justifies  them  and 
gives  them  eternal  life.”  He  obtained  a  new  vision  of 
God,  a  new  way  to  the  throne  of  grace,  a  new  concep¬ 
tion  of  the  gospel,  which  in  due  time  constrained  him 
to  turn  protestant  and  reformer. 

Comparing,  then,  the  training  and  religious  expe¬ 
rience  of  these  leaders,  we  find  many  more  points  of 
contrast  than  of  resemblance.  The  one  was  ^‘a  gentle¬ 
man  in  search  of  a  religion”;  the  other  was  a  sinner 
in  search  of  salvation.  The  one  found  a  prophet  with 
a  new  law;  the  other,  a  Savior  and  Lord  with  a  new 
gospel.  The  one  became  the  founder  of  a  school  of 
sound  doctrine  and  pure  morals;  the  other,  of  a  com¬ 
munity  of  believers  in  a  gospel  of  redemption  and 
reconciliation.  Both,  indeed,  were  dissatisfied  with  the 
Catholic  Church,  and  were  in  search  of  truth  and 
righteousness.  Both  lived  morally  blameless  lives  and 
turned  to  the  New  Testament  as  a  guide  to  the  way 
of  life.  Yet  the  results  of  their  efforts  at  reform  differ 
widely  in  principle  and  in  practice;  for,  as  they  op¬ 
posed  Catholicism  from  different  standpoints  and  with 
different  experiences,  so  they  necessarily  defined  Prot¬ 
estantism  with  fundamentally  different  conceptions 
of  the  gospel. 

These  differences  come  to  view  as  we  compare  the 
salient  doctrines  of  the  two  systems.  The  Socinians, 
in  the  Hacovian  Catechism,  defined  the  Christian  re¬ 
ligion  as  ^The  way,  shown  by  God  through  Jesus  Christ, 
of  attaining  eternal  life.”  To  the  question  where  this 
way  is  to  be  found,  the  answer  is  given:  ^Tn  the 


244 


CHRISTIAN  WAYS  OF  SALVATION 


Sacred  Scriptures,  especially  in  the  New  Testament.’^ 
At  first  sight  the  evangelical  reader  may  be  disposed  to 
assent  to  these  statements;  but  a  closer  inquiry  will 
show  a  wide  difference  from  the  evangelical  doctrines. 
The  Bible,  the  New  Testament  in  particular,  is  con¬ 
sidered  a  divinely  revealed  compend  of  precepts  and 
promises,  addressed  to  the  reason  and  the  will  of  man. 
In  it  there  may  be  some  statements  which  are  supra 
rationem.  Still,  it  contains  nothing  that  is  contra 
rationem.  The  human  understanding  is  the  gauge  of 
truth.  The  Scriptures,  accordingly,  are  to  be  accepted 
by  the  reason  and  will  as  law;  not  to  be  appropriated 
by  faith  as  gospel.  The  difference  between  the  Jewish 
religion  and  the  Christian  is  one  of  degree  rather  than 
of  kind.  Christianity  is  only  an  improved  Judaism, — 
a  thesis  against  which  Paul  wrote  his  most  weighty 
epistles.  Christ  is  a  new  prophet  and  lawgiver,  who 
has  proclaimed  ^^more  perfect  and  more  excellent 
promises  and  precepts’^  than  those  found  in  the  Old 
Testament.  He  advances  beyond  Moses  and  the 
prophets,  in  that  he  adds  moral  commands,  sacra¬ 
mental  ordinances,  and  the  promise  of  eternal  life,  as 
well  as  the  example  of  his  own  perfect  character  and 
the  impulse  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  The  assurance  of 
forgiveness  is  given  to  those  who  are  penitent  and 
seriously  strive  to  fulfil  the  law. 

Faith  and  justification  are  defined  agreeably  to  this 
view  of  Christianity  and  the  Bible.  Faith  is  assensus 
(assent)  to  a  series  of  propositions — precepts  and 
promises — made  by  God  through  Christ;  it  is  not 
fiducia  (trust)  in  God’s  grace  revealed  by  Christ.  ‘Tn 
the  Scriptures,”  says  the  Racovian  Catechism,  ^Taith 
is  most  perfectly  taught  that  God  exists  and  that  He 
recompenses.  This,  and  nothing  else,  is  the  faith 


THE  WAY  OF  THE  HUMANISTS 


245 


which  is  to  be  directed  to  God  and  to  Christ/’  It  is 
furthermore  affirmed  that  ^This  faith  makes  our 
obedience  more  acceptable  and  well-pleasing  to  God, 
and  supplies  the  defects  of  our  obedience  provided  we 
be  sincere  and  earnest,  and  brings  it  about  that  we  are 
justified  before  God.”  This  was,  in  substance,  the 
doctrine  of  the  nominalist  theologians,  and  of  certain 
medieval  popes  who  said  that  the  Christian  need  only 
believe  that  God  is  a  rewarder  of  the  obedient;  as  for 
the  rest  of  Christian  doctrine,  a  fides  implicita  is  suffi¬ 
cient.  The  Socinians,  of  course,  have  dropped  the  fides 
implicita;  but  they  remain  on  the  plane  of  the  medie¬ 
val  theologians,  yea,  even  of  the  Jewish  and  pagan 
religions,  in  defining  faith  as  belief  in  an  omnipotent 
recompenser  of  the  just  and  the  unjust.  ^^Of  an  evan¬ 
gelical  feeling  there  is  here  no  trace,”  says  Harnack. 

Justification,  or  forgiveness,  is  not  the  beginning,  but 
the  end,  of  the  Christian  life.  If  one  earnestly  strives 
to  obey  the  new  law,  then,  though  obedience  is  not 
perfect,  God  in  the  final  judgment  will  pardon  one’s 
defects.  Forgiveness  is  a  mere  incident,  not  the  es¬ 
sence,  of  salvation.^®  Only  in  this  sense  are  we  justified 
by  faith; — a  concession  to  the  Pauline  doctrine,  but 
a  total  misapprehension  of  it.  This  conception  is 
nearer  akin  to  the  Catholic  view,  than  to  the  Protes¬ 
tant. 

Luther  and  his  contemporaries,  approaching  the 
Bible  with  a  different  religious  experience,  typically 

“Ritschl,  “Rechtfertigung  und  Versohnung,”  I.  p.  316,  says:  “Here 
appears  a  palpable  mark  of  practical  opposition  between  Socinianism 
and  churchly  Protestantism.  In  the  one  forgiveness  of  sin  is  con¬ 
sidered  the  beginning,  in  the  other  the  result,  of  the  Christian  life. 
The  Socinian  estimate  of  forgiveness  as  a  reward  of  Christian  living 
is  at  the  same  time  an  indication  that  we  are  to  recognize  Christ 
as  the  founder,  not  of  a  religious  community,  but  of  an  ethical 
school.” 


246  CHRISTIAN  WAYS  OF  SALVATION 

Pauline,  drew  a  sharp  distinction  between  Judaism 
and  Christianity,  law  and  gospel,  faith  and  works, 
justification  and  sanctification.  The  Old  Testament 
was  recognized  only  as  a  tutor  leading  men  to  Christ; 
''Christ  is  the  end  of  the  law  unto  righteousness  to 
every  one  that  believeth.'’  The  message  of  Jesus,  re¬ 
corded  in  the  New  Testament,  is  not  a  series  of  laws 
and  promises,  but  glad  tidings  of  salvation, — "the 
kingdom  of  God  is  at  hand:  repent  ye  and  believe  in 
the  gospel.^^  It  is  essentially  a  gospel, — good  news, — 
appealing  to  men  burdened  with  sin  and  guilt,  seeking 
pardon,  peace,  and  blessedness.  The  Augsburg  Con¬ 
fession  summarizes  the  contents  of  Christ’s  proclama¬ 
tion  thus:  "That  God,  not  for  our  merits,  but  for 
Christ’s  sake,  doth  justify  those  who  believe  that  they 
for  Christ’s  sake  are  received  into  favor.”  "The  Word 
itself,”  says  Calvin,  "is  a  mirror  in  which  faith  may 
behold  God.”  According  to  the  Heidelberg  Catechism, 
the  substance  of  the  gospel  is  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ, 
"who  is  freely  given  us  for  complete  redemption  and 
righteousness.” 

In  the  evangelical  system,  faith  and  justification  are 
inseparably  united.  "Where  there  is  forgiveness  of 
sins,  there  are  also  life  and  salvation,”  says  Luther. 
Faith  is  more  than  the  Socinian  belief  that  God  is,  and 
that  he  will  reward  those  who  keep  his  laws.  "It  is  a 
hearty  trust,  which  the  Holy  Ghost  works  in  me  by  the 
Gospel,  that  not  only  to  others,  but  to  me  also,  forgive¬ 
ness  of  sins,  everlasting  righteousness  and  salvation, 
are  freely  given  by  God,  merely  of  grace,  only  for  the 
sake  of  Christ’s  merits”  (Heidelberg  Catechism,  Ques¬ 
tion  21).  It  has  its  source  in  the  will  of  God,  is 
surrender  to  a  living  person,  and  is  the  beginning  of 
a  new  life.  Justification  does  not  come  after  an 


THE  WAY  OF  THE  HUMANISTS 


247 


earnest  effort  of  man  to  obey  the  law  of  Christ;  but 
it  is  an  act  of  divine  grace  in  behalf  of  the  sinner,  by 
which  he  becomes  a  son  of  God  and  ever  after  lives  a 
life  of  thankfulness  for  his  redemption. 

The  Socinian  interpretation  of  the  work  of  Christ, 
or  the  way  of  salvation,  is  controlled  by  the  Scotist 
conception  of  God  as  the  absolutely  Arbitrary  One 
{Dominium  Absolutum).  In  his  relation  to  man  he 
is  bound  to  act  according  to  an  a  priori  fixed  moral 
order.  In  the  Racovian  Catechism  we  are  told,  ^Tt 
belongs  to  the  nature  of  God  that  He  has  the  right  and 
supreme  power  to  decree  whatsoever  He  wills  concern¬ 
ing  all  things  and  concerning  us,  even  in  those  matters 
with  which  no  other  power  has  to  do;  for  example.  He 
can  give  laws  and  appoint  rewards  and  penalties,  ac¬ 
cording  to  His  own  judgment,  to  our  thoughts,  hidden 
as  these  may  be  in  the  inmost  recesses  of  our  hearts.’^ 
^The  idea,’^  says  Professor  Harnack,  ^That  God  is  a 
being  on  whom  man  may  depend,  is  foreign  to  the 
Socinians.^^ 

The  way  of  saving  men  is,  therefore,  a  matter  of 
arbitrary  choice  on  God’s  part,  and  not  a  necessary 
consequence  of  God’s  moral  nature.  Had  he  willed 
otherwise,  he  might  have  accomplished  the  same  re¬ 
sults  in  a  diametrically  opposite  way.  In  the  Bible, 
however,  we  find  the  plan  which  God  has  resolved 
upon,  and  which  may  be  epitomized  as  follows. — Ac¬ 
cording  to  a  divine  decree  man  is  to  be  lifted  from  a 
state  of  death  to  a  state  of  immortality.  For  this 
purpose  the  man  Jesus  was  miraculously  conceived, 
divinely  endowed  with  wisdom  and  grace,  raised  from 
the  dead,  and  exalted  to  glory.  He  was  a  great  prophet, 
whose  function  was  to  teach  men  ‘The  perfect  precepts 
and  promises  of  God,  and  the  method  and  reason  by 


248  CHRISTIAN  WAYS  OF  SALVATION 

which  we  ought  to  conform  to  the  divine  precepts  and 
promises/^  He  himself  was  an  example  of  perfect 
obedience.  His  sinlessness,  miracles,  death,  and  resur¬ 
rection  confirmed  and  sealed  the  truth  of  his  doctrine 
and  his  divine  authority. 

Neither  the  theology  of  the  Socinians  nor  their 
personal  experience  of  sin  and  salvation  requires  Jesus 
to  be  God,  or  to  make  atonement  for  man's  sin.  In 
answer  to  the  question.  Was  Jesus  God,  or  man?  they 
unhesitatingly  said  that  he  was  man,  yet  not  ''purus 
et  vulgaris  homo”  He  was  an  extraordinary  man, 
with  divine  power,  wisdom,  and  immortality.  Aftei^ 
his  resurrection  God  gave  him  lordship  over  all  things, 
and  he  now  deserves  adoration  and  immortality.  The 
Racovian  Catechism  says:  ^^Scripture  testifies  that 
Jesus  Christ  by  nature  was  man."  This  position  is 
maintained  by  arguments  from  the  Bible  and  from 
sound  reason.  The  more  important  question.  Is  Christ 
my  God?  the  Socinians  never  raised.  They  defined 
his  nature  and  work  simply  on  the  basis  of  Scripture 
passages  and  the  testimony  of  reason ;  not  through  the 
experience  of  redemption  which  enabled  Paul  to  say, 
“No  one  can  call  Jesus  Lord,  save  in  the  Holy  Spirit." 

According  to  the  evangelical  view  God  is  a  moral 
ruler  whose  nature  corresponds  to  the  moral  order  in 
the  universe.  The  way  of  salvation  is  not  determined 
by  an  arbitrary  decree  of  God,  in  the  sense  that  man 
might  have  been  saved  without  atonement  as  well  as 
by  atonement,  had  God  so  willed.  In  answer  to  Ques¬ 
tion  40,  “Why  was  it  necessary  for  Christ  to  suffer 
death?"  the  Heidelberg  Catechism  says:  “Because  by 
reason  of  the  justice  and  truth  of  God  satisfaction  for 
our  sins  could  be  made  not  otherwise  than  by  the  death 
of  the  Son  of  God."  This  answer  clearly  makes  the 


THE  WAY  OF  THE  HUMANISTS 


249 


atonement  a  necessity,  flowing  from  the  nature  of  God 
himself.  The  evangelical  reformers  could  have  given 
only  a  negative  answer  to  the  Scotist  question, 
“Could  God  have  freed  men  from  the  guilt  and  pun¬ 
ishment  of  sin  without  the  work  of  Christ?’^  The 
Socinians,  however,  said,  “Yes,  if  God  so  resolves.” 

Again,  Luther’s  sense  of  sin  and  experience  of  sal¬ 
vation,  so  different  from  that  of  the  Socinians,  de¬ 
termined  his  conception  of  Christ  as  Savior.  He  had 
the  Pauline  experience,  and  rediscovered,  therefore, 
the  Pauline  Savior.  The  necessity  and  the  doctrine  of 
the  atonement  were  not  based  simply  on  Scripture 
passages;  but  these  Scripture  passages  received  their 
proper  value  because  Luther  actually  experienced 
what  they  described.  In  this  sense  atonement  was  a 
revelation  to  Paul  and  to  Luther,  and  finds  its  necessity 
in  God’s  nature  and  in  man’s  condition.  Man,  then, 
cannot  save  himself,  whether  by  intellectual  culture 
or  moral  effort.  Salvation  is  an  act  of  God  in  Christ, 
and  is  appropriated  by  faith. 

The  polemic  of  the  Socinians  against  the  Trinity  was 
a  natural  consequence  of  their  conception  of  the  nature 
of  God  and  of  salvation.  If  Christ  is  only  man,  the 
trinitarian  idea  is  no  longer  required  by  the  Christian 
system.  Arguments  against  this  doctrine  are  drawn 
from  the  Scriptures  and  from  reason.  Still,  the  denial 
of  the  Trinity  is  not  declared  to  be  necessary,  but 
vehementer  utile; — “erne  schlimme  Concession”  adds 
Professor  Harnack. 

The  Socinian  turns  the  Church  into  a  school,  com¬ 
posed  of  men  who  are  seeking  to  understand  the  doc¬ 
trines  and  laws  proclaimed  by  Jesus  and  preserved  in 
the  New  Testament.  The  bond  of  union  between  the 
members  is  the  effort  to  find  truth  and  to  keep  pre- 


250 


CHRISTIAN  WAYS  OF  SALVATION 


cepts.  Jesus  is  the  teacher  and  the  example ;  the  Bible 
is  the  text-book;  men  are  the  pupils.  The  Church  is 
resolved  into  an  institution  of  ethical  culture,  which 
finds  its  moral  incentive  in  the  promise  of  eternal  life. 

The  evangelical  reformers  conceived  of  the  Church 
as  a  community  of  believers  composed  of  men  and 
women  who  are  saved  through  Jesus  Christ;  and  who, 
being  saved,  strive  to  glorify  God  for  the  salvation 
which  they  have  received.  It  is  a  fellowship  of  saints 
who  are  united  by  a  common  experience,  a  common 
hope,  and  a  common  love;  and  who  show  themselves 
'Thankful  to  God  for  His  blessings,  that  He  may  be 
glorified  through  them’^  (Heid.  Cat.,  Qu.  86). 

Socinianism,  like  Lutheranism,  was  a  serious  at¬ 
tempt  to  re-form  the  Church  and  to  restore  biblical 
Christianity.  As  such  it  deserves  respectful  considera¬ 
tion.  It  was  in  agreement  with  other  Protestant  types 
in  renouncing  the  authority  of  the  hierarchy,  in  abol¬ 
ishing  the  elaborate  Catholic  ritual,  and  in  making  the 
New  Testament  the  rule  of  doctrine  and  life.  In 
denying  the  doctrines  of  the  Trinity,  the  Incarnation, 
and  the  Atonement,  however,  it  went  beyond  the  scope 
of  evangelical  Protestantism.  Its  point  of  departure 
from  Lutheranism  and  Calvinism  was  its  soteriology, 
or  the  conception  of  the  way  of  salvation.  Socinus 
never  had  the  evangelical  experience  of  justification, 
and  consequently,  when  he  came  to  defining  Chris¬ 
tianity,  he  did  not  rise  above  the  level  of  intellectual- 
ism  and  moralism, — the  two  distinctive  characteristics 
of  ancient  Catholicism.  He  did  not  advance  beyond 
Romanism,  but  perpetuated  its  Jewish  and  Hellenic 
ideas  in  a  simplified  form. 

True,  certain  superstitions,  abuses,  and  baseless 
claims  were  eliminated;  but  the  cure  of  the  ills  of  the 


THE  WAY  OF  THE  HUMANISTS 


251 


Church  was  not  to  be  found  in  a  criticism  of  its  dogma, 
a  reform  of  its  morals,  or  a  change  of  its  organization. 
Remedies  of  this  sort  were  tried  by  medieval  sects, 
reforming  councils,  mystics,  and  humanists. 

The  reformers  before  the  Reformation  failed  because 
they  did  not  go  to  the  root  of  the  trouble.  Catholicism 
was  the  product  of  a  unique  conception  of  God  and  of 
salvation.  This  was  the  formative  idea  of  its  worship, 
polity,  doctrine,  and  morality.  The  Church,  therefore, 
could  be  re-formed,  not  by  a  critic,  a  philosopher,  or  a 
theologian,  but  only  by  a  prophet  who  had  a  new  vision 
of  God  as  the  God  of  Grace  and  who  entered  into  a 
new  fellowship  with  him — a  fellowship  of  faith.  This 
is  the  essential  principle  of  evangelical  Christianity; 
and  Luther,  having  experienced  this  in  his  own  life, 
became  the  leader  of  the  Reformation,  and  separated 
from  Catholicism  because  he  rose  above  and  went 
beyond  it.  The  result  of  his  protest,  as  well  as  that 
of  his  contemporaries,  was  an  intellectual,  moral, 
political,  and  social  transformation  of  society, — noth¬ 
ing  less  than  a  new  period  in  the  history  of  the  world. 

For  lack  of  a  deeper  religious  experience  than  that 
which  was  worked  out  in  Catholicism,  Socinianism  was 
valuable  only 

as  a  severe  and  mordant  analysis  of  a  formal  and  scholastic 
theology,  .  .  .  but  it  had  little  independent  and  no  con¬ 
structive  worth.  The  Socinian  criticism  simply  applied  to 
the  profoundest  mysteries  of  theology  our  everyday  logical 
and  ethical  categories.  It  represented  the  play  of  the 
prosaic  understanding  in  the  region  of  the  speculative 
imagination.  For  this  very  reason  it  was  defective.^® 

It  rejected  the  Atonement,  the  Incarnation,  and  the 
Trinity,  on  rational  grounds,  without  recognizing  the 

”  Fairbairn,  “The  Place  of  Christ  in  Modem  Theology,”  p.  173. 


262 


CHRISTIAN  WAYS  OF  SALVATION 


religious  experience  out  of  which  these  dogmas  have 
grown.  It  failed  to  distinguish  the  formula  from  the 
truth  which  it  embodied,  and  therefore  renounced  the 
one  with  the  other.  At  the  present  time  the  feeling 
is  growing  stronger  and  clearer  that  the  evangelical 
reformers  accepted  from  Catholicism  dogmatic  state¬ 
ments  which  do  not  conform  to  the  Protestant  expe¬ 
rience.  Dogmas  of  the  fourth  century  Fathers,  in 
which  the  gospel  is  interpreted  in  terms  of  Greek 
philosophy,  can  hardly  be  expected  to  be  satisfactory 
expositions  of  the  gospel  as  comprehended  by  sixteenth 
century  reformers.  The  result  is  theological  unrest  in 
the  Christian  world  to-day.  The  way  out  of  the  diffi¬ 
culty,  however,  is  not  found  in  the  rationalism  and 
moralism  of  the  Socinians,  who  failed  to  take  into  ac¬ 
count  the  evangelical  experience  of  sin,  atonement, 
forgiveness,  faith,  justification  and  sanctification.^'^ 
For  a  solution  of  the  problem  we  look  not  to  a  rejection 
of  these  facts,  but  to  a  restatement  of  them  in  the  light 
of  the  Christian  consciousness  of  this  age. 

Of  course  the  Unitarians  of  to-day  no  longer  hold 
Socinian  doctrines.  Priestley,  Channing,  and  Mar- 
tineau  have  not  lived  in  vain  since  Socinus  died.  But 
the  standpoint  and  spirit  of  the  Italian  reformers  are 
still  characteristic  of  certain  kinds  of  liberal  theology. 
Jesus  is  reduced  to  a  teacher,  the  gospel  to  a  law,  and 
the  Church  to  a  society  of  ethical  culture.  And  this 

"Ritschl,  “Rechtfertigung  und  Versohnung,”  I.  p.  313:  “I  do 
not  deny  that  the  doctrine  of  the  Trinity  which  the  reformers 
adopted,  and  the  doctrine  of  reconciliation,  to  which  they  and  their 
disciples  gave  new  form,  are  capable  of  improvement  in  respect  to 
matter  and  form,  and,  considering  exegetical  and  dialectical  require¬ 
ments,  such  improvement  is  indeed  necessary;  but  I  do  deny  that 
the  significance  of  these  doctrines  for  the  churchly  character  of 
Protestantism  can  be  understood  only  when  we  imagine  we  have 
reached  the  logical  result  of  the  Reformation  by  setting  them  aside, 
as  the  Socinians  did.” 


THE  WAY  OF  THE  HUMANISTS 


253 


view  of  Christianity  is  offered  as  a  substitute,  not 
simply  for  Roman  Catholicism;  but  for  evangelical 
Protestantism, — a  modernized  gospel  trimmed  down  to 
fit  the  categories  of  an  evolutionary  hypothesis  and  of 
historical  criticism,  of  economic  programs  and  of  utili¬ 
tarian  ethics.  The  issue  before  the  Church  to-day  is 
not  essentially  different  from  that  before  the  Church 
in  the  first  and  second  centuries.  Then  the  Jewish 
Christians  endeavored  to  turn  the  gospel  into  a  new 
law;  the  Greek  Christians,  into  a  new  philosophy. 
Paul  proclaimed  it  as  a  new  life.  If  it  is  only  a  law, 
however  perfect,  or  only  a  philosophy,  however  true, 
it  is  a  matter  for  ethical  and  philosophical  schools,  not 
glad  tidings  to  be  announced  to  the  poor.  Christianity 
fails  in  its  original  purpose,  and  loses  its  power,  when 
it  ceases  to  be  preached  as  a  message  of  forgiveness, 
peace,  consolation,  inspiration,  and  hope  to  the  toiling 
masses,  burdened  by  sin,  heart-broken,  world-weary, 
despondent,  and  dying.  This  has  been  its  strength  in 
the  past;  this  will,  doubtless,  be  its  glory  in  the  future. 
As  an  ethical  religion  of  redemption  Christianity  won 
its  way  into  the  Roman  empire  in  the  face  of  a  multi¬ 
tude  of  religions  and  cults  which  also  had  the  sanctions 
of  divine  origin  and  of  centuries  of  tradition.  It  had 
something  to  offer  which  the  world  longed  for  and  had 
never  yet  received.  Its  gospel  of  grace  differentiated 
it  from  all  other  religions.  On  this  point ,  Professor 
Reitzenstein,  writing  as  a  philologist  and  not  as  a 
theologian,  gives  valuable  testimony  in  his  ^Toi- 
mandres’^ 

That  this  redemption  [of  Christ]  was  not  simply  a  driv¬ 
ing  away  of  evil  passions  and  vices,  a  deliverance  from 
death  and  assurance  of  eternal  life,  but  first  of  all  a  for¬ 
giveness  of  sins,  appears  to  me  to  be  that  which  is  new  in 


254 


CHRISTIAN  WAYS  OF  SALVATION 


Christianity.  The  almost  terrifying  zeal  with  which  men 
preached  guilt  and  reconciliation  is  wanting  in  Hellenism, 
so  far  as  I  can  see.  When  the  early  Christians  related  this 
sense  of  guilt,  and  faith  in  forgiveness  of  even  the  most 
grievous  sins,  to  the  death  of  Jesus,  then  and  then  only  did 
the  Christian  doctrine  of  a  Savior  obtain  its  unique  and  its 
world-conquering  power.  Its  Hellenic  rivals  could  do  no 
more  than  prepare  a  way  for  it  in  a  world  in  which  a  sense 
of  sin  and  guilt  had  been  reawakened.^® 

This  aspect  of  Christianity — ignored  by  Socinus  and 
his  disciples — Luther  and  his  contemporaries  restored. 
Herein  lies  the  original  and  irreconcilable  difference 
between  Socinianism  and  evangelical  Protestantism. 

Quoted  by  Wernle,  ‘‘Zeitschrift  fiir  Theologie  und  Kirche,” 
1910,  p.  25. 


Ill 


CONCLUSIONS 


Ill 


CONCLUSIONS 
CHAPTER  XI 

CONCLUSIONS  ON  THE  WAY  OF  SALVATION 

The  Present  Need — The  Way — Pagan  and  Christian 
Ways — Relative  Value  of  Christian  Ways 

A  STUDY  of  the  ways  of  salvation,  pre-Christian  and 
Christian,  has  more  than  historical  and  theoretic  value. 
It  throws  light  on  the  practical  religious  issues  of  to¬ 
day.  We  shall  consider,  therefore,  certain  conclusions 
that  may  be  drawn  from  human  experience  from  the 
time  of  the  primeval  savage  to  the  modern  sage.  Do 
we  still  need  salvation?  have  we  perhaps  outgrown  it? 
If  not,  how  are  we  to  be  saved  now?  What  is  the 
relation  of  the  present  experience  of  salvation  to  the 
traditional  doctrine;  and  what  has  this  relation  to  do 
with  the  union  of  Churches?  These  and  other  ques¬ 
tions  call  for  serious  consideration. 

I 

We  are  living  in  a  new  world,  different  from  the 
ancient,  the  medieval,  or  even  the  early  modern.  Our 
age  is  not  merely  an  enlarged  or  expanded  sixteenth 
century.  Though  we  are  historically  related  and  deeply 
indebted  to  it,  we  differ  from  it  not  only  in  degree  but 
in  kind.  The  mental  mood  of  the  man  of  the  twentieth 
century  is  strange  to  the  man  of  the  sixteenth.  We 

257 


258 


CHRISTIAN  WAYS  OF  SALVATION 


may  appeal  to  the  sayings  of  the  Reformers  to  support 
our  theories;  but  do  we  put  the  same  meaning  into 
their  phrases,  and  would  they  understand  us  if  th^y 
were  to  come  back  to  us?  New  spiritual  and  material 
factors  and  forces  are  at  work  in  the  life  of  the  present; 
some  of  them  new  in  the  sense  that  their  significance 
has  but  recently  been  recognized;  others  just  come  to 
birth,  with  promise  of  a  lusty  youth  and  vigorous 
manhood. 

Ours  is  the  age  of  science,  democracy,  and  indus- 
triahsm.  Underlying  these,  and  partly  a  product  of 
them,  is  an  intensified  humanism, — a  new  sense  of 
man’s  ability  to  think,  to  act,  and  to  care  for  himself. 
The  sense  of  dependence  upon  God  has  decreased  in 
proportion  as  the  spirit  of  man’s  independence  has 
grown.  The  life  of  man  was  formerly  controlled  by 
civil  and  ecclesiastical  dictation.  Philosophy,  art, 
science,  politics,  schools,  morals,  theology,  worship, — • 
all  were  under  control  of  divinely  appointed  officials, 
bishops  or  princes.  The  modern  man  has  freed  him¬ 
self  from  these  restraints,  and  has  built  a  civilization 
on  secular  and  rational  premises.  He  finds  sanctions 
for  government  and  social  order  in  the  natural  reason 
and  conscience,  instead  of  in  the  hierarchy  or  the 
Scriptures.  The  lex  naturce  is  cited  as  of  equal  au¬ 
thority  with  the  lex  dei.  We  speak,  accordingly,  of  a 
secular  state,  philosophy,  politics,  art,  and  ethics. 

The  rise  of  astronomy,  geology,  chemistry,  biology, 
and  historical  criticism,  the  evolutionary  hypothesis, 
and  social  science  have  dethroned  dogmatism,  tra¬ 
ditionalism,  and  autocracy.  The  readjustment  in 
theological  thinking,  required  by  the  scientific  view  of 
the  world,  seems,  when  one  listens  to  utterances  of 
contemporary  political  and  religious  leaders,  to  be  far 


CONCLUSIONS  ON  THE  WAY  OF  SALVATION  259 


from  completed.  The  public  school,  the  labor-saving 
machine,  the  corporation,  and  the  labor  union  have 
completely  revolutionized  the  life  of  man,  his  aspira¬ 
tions,  his  methods  of  working,  and  his  pleasures.  Of 
course  all  of  these  are  upheld  by  a  sense  of  human 
ability,  a  new  faith  in  man  to  work  out  his  own  destiny. 
The  modern  man  has  a  sense  of  bold  superiority  to 
the  world  and  has  unbounded  confidence  in  the  strength 
of  his  own  soul.  He  can  level  mountains,  whisper 
across  oceans,  and  make  Saharas  blossom  like  the  rose. 
Christianity  is  facing  a  world  that  does  not  recognize 
religious  premises  of  any  sort;  that,  indeed,  in  this 
respect  is  more  delinquent  than  pagan  Rome.  The 
state  is  a  purely  natural  institution  with  wholly  hu¬ 
manitarian  motives  and  ends.  Its  ethics  ignores  re¬ 
ligious  bases  and  is  utilitarian  and  hedonistic  in  mo¬ 
tive.  The  basal  institutions  of  the  social  order,  into 
which  men  are  born  and  in  which  they  are  reared,  are 
pervaded  by  a  materialistic  and  egoistic  spirit.  The 
tissue  of  our  national  life  has  not  been  woven  out  of 
Christian  stuff.  Our  economic  and  industrial  order  is 
far  from  Christian,  and  at  many  points  is  in  direct 
contradiction  to  the  ideals  of  justice  and  brotherhood. 

Most  significant  of  all,  perhaps,  is  the  smug  satis¬ 
faction  of  men  with  their  scientific  and  industrial 
achievements,  and  their  audacious  contempt  for  the 
unmarketable  culture  of  the  schools.  A  recent  critic 
of  our  educational  system  says: 

The  undergraduate  sits  during  the  four  most  impression¬ 
able  years  of  his  life  under  the  tuition  and  influence  of 
highly  trained,  greatly  devoted,  and  sincere  men,  who  are 
financial  incompetents,  who  have  as  little  interest  in,  or 
understanding  of,  business  as  has  the  boy  himself.^ 

^Atlantic  Monthly,  April,  1922,  p.  487. 


260 


CHRISTIAN  WAYS  OF  SALVATION 


Mr.  Henry  Ford  blandly  announces  that  history  is 
^^bunk.”  I  do  not  know  what  that  means,  but  I  suspect 
that  it  is  nothing  favorable  to  the  Cliosophic  Muse. 
For  why  should  the  world  care  for  Herodotus  and 
Thucydides,  Livy  and  Tacitus,  Gibbon  and  Bancroft, 
so  long  as  men  can  ride  in  ^Tords”?  Mr.  Samuel 
Gompers  writes  with  pardonable  complacency  of 
himself : 

When  I  think  of  the  education  I  got  in  the  London 
streets,  the  training  acquired  by  work  in  the  shop,  the 
discipline  growing  out  of  attempts  to  build  an  organization 
to  accomplish  definite  results,  of  the  rich  cultural  oppor¬ 
tunities  through  human  contacts,  I  know  that  my  educa¬ 
tional  opportunities  have  been  very  unusual. 

He  has  no  sense  of  loss  for  not  having  been  taught  in 
the  schools,  and  apparently  has  no  thought  of  culture 
superior  to  that  of  the  streets  and  shops  and  human 
contacts.  Men  are  not  always  opposed  to  religion; 
not  infrequently  they  subsidize  it.  They  are  tolerant 
of  it;  but  theirs  is  the  fatal  tolerance  of  indifference, 
which  is  far  more  deadly  than  bitter  opposition. 

The  self-reliance  of  the  modern  man  breeds  an  easy¬ 
going  optimism  in  relation  to  the  conditions  of  the 
present  and  the  outcome  of  the  future.  It  was  taken 
for  granted,  at  least  until  recently,  that  natural  evolu¬ 
tion  and  human  effort  will  rapidly  lead  men  into  the 
state  of  perfection.  The  sense  of  sin,  which  once 
drove  men  to  the  throne  of  grace,  is  reduced  to  igno¬ 
rance,  disease,  or  immaturity,  which  drive  men  to  the 
teacher  or  to  the  doctor.  More  light  is  the  cure  for 
moral  error;  more  growth,  for  moral  defects.  The 
feeling  of  human  inability,  of  intolerable  limitations 
and  irreconcilable  contradictions,  felt  so  keenly  by 
Augustine  and  Luther,  is  superseded  by  a  consciousness 


CONCLUSIONS  ON  THE  WAY  OF  SALVATION  261 


of  almost  unlimited  strength  that  has  no  sense  of  the 
grace  and  truth  of  God. 

The  last  decade,  however,  has  taught  men  the  shal¬ 
lowness  and  barrenness  of  their  lives,  the  proximity  of 
savagery  to  culture.  Notwithstanding  his  conquest  of 
nature’s  forces,  man  is  largely  at  the  mercy  of  pesti¬ 
lence  and  famine,  storms  and  earthquakes.  He  needs 
food,  shelter,  and  raiment;  and  the  struggle  for  these 
consumes  body  and  soul.  For  the  great  mass  of  man¬ 
kind,  life  is  still  an  almost  unbearable  burden.  The 
most  cultured  Christian  nations  recently  engaged  in 
the  most  terrible  and  savage  war  of  history.  It  was 
savagery  refined  and  supported  by  science.  Once  they 
used  the  club,  now  the  bomb ;  once  they  slew  hundreds, 
now  millions ;  once  they  laid  waste  provinces,  now  con¬ 
tinents.  It  matters  little  whether  man  wears  skins  or 
broadcloth,  so  long  as  the  heart  is  unchanged.  Even 
now  the  wounds  of  war  are  festering,  and  the  victims 
of  peace  are  perhaps  more  numerous  than  those  of 
war.  Men  are  engaged  in  secret  and  in  open  battle  for 
advantage,  man  over  man,  group  over  group,  nation 
over  nation.  Man’s  inhumanity  to  man  never  cried 
more  loudly  to  heaven  from  the  blood-soaked  earth 
than  now.  The  lure  of  power,  wealth,  and  pleasure 
has  led  men  captive. 

The  experience  of  war  and  peace  confirms  what  more 
thoughtful  minds  are  proclaiming.  These  have  the 
conviction  of  the  failure  of  our  civilization.  Science 
and  industry,  machinery  and  wealth,  organization  apd 
diplomacy,  cannot  satisfy  men.  Nor  can  we  ^nd 
solace  in  the  automatic  curative  power  of  evolution 
or  of  education. 

Mr.  Huxley,  speaking  as  an  exponent  of  evolution, 
says: 


262 


CHRISTIAN  WAYS  OF  SALVATION 


With  all  their  enormous  differences  in  natural  endowment, 
men  agree  in  one  thing,  that  is,  their  innate  desire  to  enjoy 
the  pleasures  and  to  escape  the  pains  of  life.  .  .  .  That  is 
their  inheritance  (the  reality  at  the  bottom  of  the  doctrine 
of  original  sin)  from  the  long  series  of  ancestors,  human, 
semi-human  and  brutal,  in  whom  the  struggle  of  their 
innate  tendency  to  self-assertion  was  the  condition  of  vic¬ 
tory  in  its  struggle  for  existence.  .  .  .  The  cosmos  works 
through  the  lower  nature  of  man,  not  for  righteousness  but 
against  it.  The  theory  of  evolution  encourages  no  mil- 
lenarian  anticipations.  The  cosmic  nature  born  within  us 
and,  to  a  large  extent,  necessary  for  our  existence,  is  the 
outcome  of  millions  of  years  of  severe  training,  and  it 
would  be  folly  to  imagine  that  a  few  centuries  will  suffice 
to  subdue  its  masterfulness  to  purely  ethical  ends.  Ethical 
nature  may  count  upon  having  to  reckon  with  a  tenacious 
and  powerful  enemy  as  long  as  the  world  lasts.^ 

Eucken,  the  philosopher,  with  ceaseless  reiteration 
exposes  the  hollowness  and  inadequacy  of  merely 
human  culture.  His  criticism  of  contemporary  move¬ 
ments  is  based  upon  the  thesis  that  ^^man  is  the  meet¬ 
ing-place  of  two  worlds,  and  only  by  seizing  the  higher 
can  a  meaning,  a  value,  and  a  right  movement  be  im¬ 
parted  to  our  life.’’  Proceeding  from  this  premise,  he 
says; 

We  resist  the  democratic  system  of  life  (Demokratismus) 
because  it  is  guilty  of  a  false  idealization  of  the  sensuous 
and  merely  natural  man,  and  is  inclined  to  subordinate  the 
spiritual  world  to  what  is  merely  human;  we  resist  the 
economic  system  of  life  {OekonomismiLs)  because  its  con¬ 
struction  from  without  inward  involves  a  denial  of  the  in¬ 
dependent  problems  of  the  inner  life,  and  because  it  be¬ 
lieves  the  complete  happiness  of  man  to  be  secured  by  the 
establishment  of  conditions  of  comfort  and  freedom  from 
care;  and  finally  we  reject  the  political  system  of  life 
(Politismics)  because  it  represses  the  independence  of  per- 

^  Huxley,  ‘‘Evolution  and  Ethics,”  p.  27.  1894. 


CONCLUSIONS  ON  THE  WAY  OF  SALVATION  263 


sonality  and  hence  endangers  the  originality  of  spiritual 
creation,  and  further  because  it  is  ready  to  sacrifice  the 
self-value  of  spiritual  goods  for  merely  utilitarian  con¬ 
siderations.  In  all  these  tendencies  we  see  an  inner  sinking 
in  the  midst  of  all  outward  progress,  a  treatment  of  the 
chief  things  as  secondary  things;  we  see  man  becoming 
spiritually  smaller.^ 

Even  Schopenhauer,  the  pessimist,  says :  ‘‘A  sure  feel¬ 
ing  informs  every  one  that  there  is  something  in  him 
which  is  absolutely  imperishable  and  indestructible.” 

Mr.  James  Branch  Cabell  in  his  “Beyond  Life” 
pleads  for  the  right  of  man  to  live  in  a  world  above 
natural  science  and  political  economy,  for  the  present 
world,  however  perfectly  organized  and  controlled, 
would  not  satisfy  the  soul  of  man.  Man  has  “roman¬ 
tic  longings  and  inexorable  cravings  to  live  part  of  the 
time  at  least  in  a  world  far  more  sweetly  molded  to  his 
fancy.”  It  is  the  haunting  sense  of  the  infinite  which 
awakes  in  him  when  he  sees  the  sunset,  hears  the  roar¬ 
ing  ocean,  breathes  the  fragrance  of  a  spring  morning, 
looks  into  the  dartling  eyes  of  a  child,  and  gazes  into 
the  silent  depths  at  night. 

Just  when  we  are  safest,  there’s  a  sunset  touch, 

A  fancy  from  a  flower-bell,  some  one’s  death, 

A  chorus-ending  from  Euripides, — 

And  that’s  enough  for  fifty  hopes  and  fears. 

As  old  and  new  at  once  as  nature’s  self. 

To  rap  and  knock  and  enter  in  our  soul. 

Take  hands  and  dance  there,  a  fantastic  ring. 

Round  the  ancient  idol,  on  his  base  again, — 

The  grand  Perhaps!^ 

Both  the  scientist  Huxley,  the  philosopher  Eucken, 
and  the  poet  Browning  open  the  door  to  the  entrance 

“Eucken,  “Main  Currents  of  Modern  Thought,”  Eng,  trans,, 
pp.  379-380.  1912. 

■*  Browning,  “Bishop  Blougram’s  Apology.” 


264 


CHRISTIAN  WAYS  OF  SALVATION 


into  human  life  of  a  power  greater  than  the  forces  of 
nature  or  the  spirit  of  man.  They  look  for  help  to  a 
spiritual  realm  beyond  the  natural  process.  Eucken 
says : 

There  must  be  a  spiritual  life  superior  to  man,  which  can, 
however,  disclose  itself  to  him  and  become  actually  his  own 
being.  .  .  .  Man  cannot  produce  a  spiritual  life  of  his  own 
capacity;  a  spiritual  world  must  impart  itself  to  him  and 
raise  him  to  itself.  .  .  .  The  whole  movement  is  not  just 
a  development  of  ordinary  human  conditions;  it  involves  a 
rupture,  a  discontinuity  of  life.  There  can  be  no  religion 
that  does  not  imply  opposition  to  man’s  primitive  condition 
and  a  reorientation  of  life.  To  this  extent  religion  involves 
revelation  and  miracle,  and  is  unthinkable  without  them.® 

Emile  Boutroux,  a  member  of  the  French  Academy, 
in  a  recent  article  says: 

It  is  more  than  ever  necessary  to-day  that  man’s  spiritual 
life  should  dominate  that  part  of  his  existence  which  is 
merely  material  and  moral;  and  it  is  more  than  ever  im¬ 
portant  that  that  spiritual  life  shall  remain  intact,  and 
continue  to  embrace  science,  poetry  and  religion  as  its 
essential  parts. 

Henry  C.  Emery,  formerly  a  professor  of  economics 
in  Yale  University,  said: 

We  are  told  by  some  writers  that  the  world  is  waiting  in 
an  agony  of  expectation  for  some  great  social  philosopher 
who  shall  bring  to  it  the  new  message  of  salvation.  If  so, 
the  world  is  wrong,  for  there  is  no  message  to  bring  it  peace 
from  its  manifold  ills,  save  that  heard  nineteen  centuries 
ago  from  the  profoundest  of  all  social  philosophers,  the  Man 
of  Nazareth.® 

“Eucken,  “Can  We  Still  be  Christians?’’  Eng.  trans.,  pp.  98,  102; 
idem,  “Life’s  Basis  and  Life’s  Ideals,”  p.  144. 

®See  Ellwood,  “The  Reconstruction  of  Religion,”  pp.  90-02. 


CONCLUSIONS  ON  THE  WAY  OE  SALVATION  265 
In  the  words  of  Professor  Ellwood: 

Now,  so  far  as  we  can  see,  the  time  will  never  come  when_ 
man  will  not  have  need  of  religion  to  release  fully  his” 
energies,  to  brace  his  vital  feelings,  and  to  help  him  face 
the  issues  of  life  and  death  with  confidence  in  himself  and 
in  his  world/ 

It  is,  doubtless,  true  that  a  thoughtful  man  to-day 
will  not  reckon  with  the  supernatural  in  nature  and  in 
history  as  an  object  of  scientific  knowledge,  for  the 
supernatural  cannot  be  naturally  discerned.  Here  is 
the  difference  between  contemporary  scholars  and 
those  of  the  sixteenth  and  seventeenth  centuries.  Yet 
it  by  no  means  follows  that  natural  science  has  a  right 
to  deny  men  the  reasonable  privilege  of  faith  in  a 
revelation  that  is  not  limited  to  an  evolutionary  process 
and  in  a  redemption  that  is  not  effected  by  merely 
immanent  forces  in  the  universe.®  Professor  Karl 
Holl  says:  ‘The  dogma  of  original  sin  describes  the 
actual  man  far  more  correctly  than  the  kind-hearted 
{gutherzigen)  theories  of  the  Enlightenment.’’  ® 

There  are  voices  far  less  hope-inspiring  than 
Eucken’s.  They  agree  with  him  in  acknowledging  the 
vanity  of  this  life,  but  are  bhnd  to  his  vision  of  a 
higher  life.  Left  to  themselves,  science  and  economics 
must  end  in  materialism,  or  at  best  in  a  refined  hu¬ 
manism.  Untouched  by  the  light  of  Jesus,  the  life  of 
man,  whether  in  the  Orient  or  in  the  Occident,  in  the 
ancient  or  in  the  modern  world,  will  flicker  out  in 
darkness.  Bertrand  Russell  is  one  of  the  most  brilliant 

''Idem,  p.  37. 

"Troeltsch  substitutes  the  term  “supersensuous”  (iibersinnlich) 
for  the  medieval  “supernatural.” 

®  “Was  hat  die  Rechtfertigungslehre  dem  modernen  Menschen  zu 
sagen?”  p.  21.  Tubingen,  1907. 


266  CHRISTIAN  WAYS  OF  SALVATION 

exponents  of  the  purely  scientific  valuation  of  life.  He 
says : 

That  man  is  the  product  of  causes  which  had  no  prevision 
of  the  end  they  were  achieving;  that  his  origin,  his  growth, 
his  hopes  and  fears,  his  loves  and  his  beliefs,  are  but  the 
outcome  of  accidental  collocation  of  atoms ;  that  no  fire,  no 
heroism,  no  intensity  of  thought  and  feeling,  can  preserve 
an  individual  life  beyond  the  grave;  that  all  the  labors  of 
the  ages,  all  the  devotion,  all  the  inspiration,  all  the  noon¬ 
day  brightness  of  human  genius,  are  destined  to  extinction 
in  the  vast  depth  of  the  solar  system;  and  that  the  whole 
temple  of  man’s  achievement  must  inevitably  be  burned 
beneath  the  debris  of  a  universe  in  ruins.^® 

This  is  but  another  way  of  saying,  with  Nietzsche, 
^^God  is  dead'’;  and  both  exult  in  his  demise.  Only 
last  May  (1921),  a  speaker  at  the  Western  Conference 
of  the  Unitarian  Association  declared  in  a  clear  and 
forceful  address  that  theism  must  be  given  up,  that 
the  thought  of  God  will  have  to  go,  that  the  long 
evolution  of  the  idea  of  God  is  to  end  in  no  idea  at 
all,  and  that  the  future  belongs  to  an  atheistic 
humanism. 

Whether  men  want  salvation  or  not,  the  philosopher, 
the  scientist,  the  socialist,  and  the  masses  unite  in 
witnessing  to  the  need  of  it.  Life  in  its  natural  form 
is  a  failure, — always  has  been,  always  will  be.  We  need 
salvation  from  sheer  despair,  if  not  from  soul-destroy¬ 
ing  sin;  from  refined  animalism,  if  not  from  brutal 
sensualism.  There  is  a  vast  multitude  always  dis¬ 
tressed  and  scattered,  knowing  not  what  they  want  and 
much  less  what  they  need.  They  are  more  easily  vic¬ 
timized  by  hirelings  than  led  by  good  shepherds.  The 
quest  for  salvation  may  be  seen  and  heard  in  divers 

“Logic  and  Mysticism,”  pp.  47-48. 

^Reformed  Church  Messenger,  Sept.  1,  1921,  p.  4. 


CONCLUSIONS  ON  THE  WAY  OF  SALVATION  267 


ways  and  places, — in  a  Fifth  Avenue  Church,  in  a 
Bowery  Mission,  in  the  halls  of  Columbia  University, 
in  the  Rand  School  of  Social  Science,  in  the  Cooper 
Union  Forum,  in  Social  Settlements,  in  Salvation 
Army  Barracks,  in  the  Labor  Temple,  in  the  Christian 
Science  meeting,  in  the  Cabaret,  in  Grand  Opera.  The 
devices  for  salvation  and  the  dreamers  of  individual 
or  social  redemption  are  legion.  Everywhere  men  feel 
the  divine  urge  of  getting  away  from  themselves,  of 
becoming  what  they  are  not.  They  are  hopefully 
restless  and  divinely  discontented.  From  a  scholar’s 
point  of  view  Gilbert  Murray  says : 

Men  find  it  [salvation],  of  course,  in  a  thousand  ways, 
with  different  degrees  of  ease  and  of  certainty.  I  am  not 
wishing  to  praise  my  talisman  at  the  expense  of  other 
talismans.  Some  find  it  in  theology;  some  in  art,  in 
human  affection,  in  the  anodyne  of  constant  work,  in  that 
permanent  exercise  of  the  inquiring  intellect  which  is  com¬ 
monly  called  the  search  for  truth;  some  find  it  in  carefully 
cultivated  illusions  of  one  sort  or  another,  in  passionate 
faiths  and  undying  pugnacities;  some,  I  believe,  find  a  sub¬ 
stitute  by  simply  rejoicing  in  their  prison,  and  living 
furiously,  for  good  or  ill  in  the  actual  moment.^^ 

II 

The  way  of  salvation  is  usually  determined  by  the 
idea  of  the  highest  good.  It  may  be  sought  by  amel¬ 
ioration  or  by  redemption,  by  human  effort  or  by 
divine  volition,  by  change  of  environment  or  by  change 
of  heart,  by  popular  education  or  by  social  transforma¬ 
tion.  The  ideals  of  life,  which  run  the  gamut  of  human 
experience,  are  the  barbarian,  the  Greek,  and  the 
Christian.  Their  names  may  change,  but  in  content 
they  are  always  the  same. 

““Religio  Grammatici,”  pp.  6,  7. 


268 


CHRISTIAN  WAYS  OF  SALVATION 


The  summum  honum  of  the  barbarian  is  to  have 
much  and  to  enjoy  much.  For  him  life  is  no  more 
than  food,  an"d  the  body  than  raiment.  His  patron 
saint  is  King  Croesus,  and  his  rule  of  life  is  described 
in  the  legendary  epitaph  dedicated  to  King  Sardanapa- 
lus:  ^Xet  us  eat  and  drink,  for  to-morrow  we  shall 
die.’’  The  offspring  of  Croesus  swarm  over  the  earth: 
they  are  like  the  sands  of  the  sea  and  the  stars  of 
heaven  for  number.  Once  they  lived  in  tents,  now 
they  dwell  in  palaces,  clubs,  universities.  Once  they 
roved  in  tribes,  now  they  have  turned  into  corporations 
and  unions.  Strange  as  it  may  seem,  they  are  the  only 
kind  of  man  that  the  social  scientist,  until  recently, 
seemed  to  recognize.  Their  condition  is  vividly  de¬ 
scribed  in  the  two  formulae  of  Hobbes:  Bellum  omnium 
contra  omnes  and  Homo  homini  lupus  est,  John 
Stuart  Mill  says: 

Political  economy  is  concerned  with  man  only  as  a  being 
who  desires  to  possess  wealth.  ...  It  makes  abstraction  of 
every  other  human  passion  or  motive.  ...  It  considers 
mankind  as  occupied  solely  in  acquiring  and  consuming 
wealth. 

Mr.  Walker  confirms  the  view  of  Mill,  and  at  the  same 
time  defines  the  attitude  of  the  English  school  of 
economists,  when  he  writes: 

The  end  of  wealth  man  never  fails  to  desire  with  a  steady, 
uniform,  constant  passion.  Of  every  other  human  passion 
or  motive  political  economy  makes  entire  abstraction. 
Love  of  country,  love  of  honor,  love  of  friends,  love  of 
learning,  love  of  art,  pity,  shame,  religion,  charity,  will 
never,  so  far  as  political  economy  cares  to  take  into  ac¬ 
count,  withstand  the  efforts  of  the  economic  man  to  amass 
wealth. 


CONCLUSIONS  ON  THE  WAY  OF  SALVATION  269 


The  latest  attempt  to  enthrone  barbarism  under  the 
pretense  of  promoting  human  welfare,  is  the  political 
and  social  program  of  the  Russian  Bolshevists, — Marx¬ 
ism  drawn  out  in  living  characters.  Considerations  of 
justice;  the  sanctity  of  the  family,  the  rights  of  woman¬ 
hood,  childhood,  and  parentage;  and,  most  of  all,  the 
ideals  of  Christianity  or  of  any  religion, — all  are 
trampled  under  foot  in  this  ‘Var  to  the  death  against 
all  who  possess.’’ 

Man,  however,  is  either  too  human  or  too  divine  to 
rest  content  with  things,  though  flashing  with  bar¬ 
baric  splendor.  ‘‘A  spark  disturbs  his  clod.”  He  can¬ 
not  rid  himself  of  God.  The  Greek  looked  with  dis¬ 
dain  upon  the  barbarian.  Solon  was  not  captivated 
by  the  wealth  and  magnificence  of  Croesus,  for,  when 
the  King  asked  whom  he  regarded  as  the  happiest  of 
men,  the  wise  Athenian,  not  a  little  to  the  other’s 
chagrin,  replied:  King,  the  Athenian  Tellos.” 

^‘Why  do  you  esteem  Tellos  happier  than  all  others?” 
the  King  asked  in  surprise.  Solon  answered:  ‘‘Tellos 
lived  at  a  time  when  the  city  was  prospering;  he  had 
beautiful  and  good  children,  and,  above  all,  lived  to 
see  his  grandchildren,  and  all  of  them  were  preserved 
to  him;  he  was,  for  our  conditions,  in  good  circum¬ 
stances,  and  finally,  he  suffered  a  glorious  death;  at 
Eleusis,  in  a  battle  between  the  Athenians  and  their 
neighbors,  he  succeeded  in  repelling  the  enemy  after 
a  gallant  fight,  and  met  a  most  beautiful  death.  And 
the  Athenians  buried  him  where  he  fell,  at  public  ex¬ 
pense,  and  greatly  honored  him.”  Croesus  made  life 
consist  of  wealth;  Tellos,  of  virtue.  The  Greek  per- 

“  See  my  article,  Educational  Review,  Sept.,  1921,  “The  Function 
of  the  Christian  College.” 

Paulsen,  “A  System  of  Ethics,”  Eng.  trans.,  p.  37. 


270 


CHRISTIAN  WAYS  OF  SALVATION 


fected  the  cult  of  strength  and  beauty,  expounded  by 
the  athletes  and  the  poets  of  the  Olympic  contests. 
He  became  the  refined  humanist,  subtle,  fascinating, 
and  yet  disappointing.  A  little  above  the  barbarian, 
he  was  far  below  the  Christian.  This  view  of  life 
has  been  revived  and  put  into  crystal  phrase  by  the 
‘‘gifted  though  unhappy  Nietzsche.^’  He  says: 

The  meaning  of  life  is  to  be  found  in  the  aesthetic  aspect 
of  it,  in  what  is  strong,  majestic,  beautiful.  To  devote 
ourselves  to  this  aspect  of  life,  to  preserve  and  strengthen 
it  in  ourselves  and  in  others,  to  make  it  predominant  and 
develop  it  further  till  superhuman  greatness  and  new  purest 
beauty  is  attained;  that  is  the  end  and  meaning  of  our 
1  existence. 

However  fine  this  somewhat  fashionable  philosophy 
may  sound,  we  cannot  escape  the  fact  that  the  strength 
of  man  ends  in  impotence,  and  the  beauty  of  man  in 
ugliness.  Beauty  that  decays  is  not  beautiful,  and 
strength  that  dies  is  not  strong.  “Were  not  Sulla  the 
Roman  aristocrat  and  dictator,  Antiochus  the  king  of 
Syria,  and  Herod  the  king  of  Judea  eaten  up  by  worms 
while  still  alive?”  A  sad  commentary  on  mere  human 
splendor  and  power!  Both  the  exaltation  and  the 
condemnation  of  the  classic  example  of  the  superman 
are  found  in  the  First  Book  of  Maccabees,  though  the 
writer  had  no  such  purpose  in  mind  when  he  wrote : 

And  it  happened  after  that  Alexander,  son  of  Philip,  the 
Macedonian,  who  came  out  of  the  land  of  Chittim,  had 
smitten  Darius,  King  of  the  Persians  and  Medes,  that  he 
reigned  in  his  stead,  the  first  over  Greece,  and  made  many, 
many  wars,  and  won  many  strongholds,  and  slew  the  kings 
of  the  earth,  and  went  through  to  the  ends  of  the  earth,  and 
took  spoils  of  many  nations,  insomuch  that  the  earth  was 
quiet  before  him,  wherefore  he  was  exalted  and  his  heart 
was  lifted  up.  And  he  gathered  a  mighty  strong  host,  and 


CONCLUSIONS  ON  THE  WAY  OF  SALVATION  271 

ruled  over  countries,  and  nations,  and  kings,  who  became 
tributaries  unto  him. 

So  far  the  exaltation.  Now  observe  the  irony  of  the 
next  sentence,  which  must  chill  devotees  of  the  super¬ 
man  to  the  bone: 

And  after  these  things  he  fell  sick,  and  perceived  that  he 
should  die. 

Christianity  does  not  reject  strength  and  beauty,  but 
it  will  not  have  a  beauty  that  fades,  nor  a  strength  that 
dies.  Christian  strength  and  beauty  are  rooted  in  the 
good ;  they  are  the  strength  and  beauty  of  Christ,  who 
is  altogether  lovely,  the  chief  among  ten  thousand. 
Christian  beauty  is  the  beauty  of  holiness,  and  Chris¬ 
tian  strength  is  the  strength  of  righteousness;  which 
death  cannot  destroy  and  the  grave  cannot  corrupt. 

There  is  a  more  excellent  way, — the  via  crucis,  the 
via  lucis,  the  via  Christi;  to  the  Greek  foolishness, 
and  to  the  Jew  a  stumblingblock,  but  the  power  and 
wisdom  of  God  to  them  that  are  saved.  This  is  not 
primarily  subscription  to  creeds,  observance  of  rituals, 
obedience  to  laws.  It  is  a  new  spirit  in  man,  an  atti¬ 
tude  and  disposition  toward  the  ultimate  realities  of 
life, — God,  man,  and  the  world.  Its  first  manifestation 
is  in  a  new  faith,  a  new  hope,  and  a  new  love.  These 
are  begotten  in  the  heart  of  man  by  God  in  Christ, — 
a  Christlike  God.  The  resultant  life  is  primarily  for 
this  world,  for  the  Kingdom  of  God  upon  earth;  and 
then  for  another  world,  for  the  Kingdom  of  God  in 
heaven.  It  means  the  conquest  of  the  world  by  its 
spiritual  transformation.  It  means  a  new  will  that 
strives  after  holiness  and  perfection, — as  the  Father 
in  heaven  is  perfect.  It  begets  a  new  feeling  of  self- 
reliance,  born  of  the  assurance  that  we  are  children  of 


272 


CHRISTIAN  WAYS  OF  SALVATION 


God.  It  creates  a  new  form  of  human  intercourse,  a 
social  community  united  in  brotherly  love.  It  results 
in  a  new  relation  to  earthly  goods,  the  mastery  of  all 
things  and  their  subordination  to  the  ideals  of 
righteousness  and  love.  Solovyoff,  in  ^‘The  Justifica¬ 
tion  of  the  Good,'’  says:  ‘‘Mastery  over  the  material 
sense,  solidarity  with  other  living  beings,  and  inward 
voluntary  submission  to  the  superhuman  principle, — 
these  are  the  eternal  and  permanent  foundations  of 
the  moral  life  of  humanity."  The  cardinal  virtues  of 
the  Greeks — wisdom,  courage,  justice,  temperance — 
need  not  be  renounced,  but  they  must  be  brought  into 
the  service  of  the  Christian  graces, — faith,  hope,  love. 
Men  are  to  see  the  universe  of  matter  and  the  nations 
of  history  through  the  eyes  of  Jesus, — all  cooperating 
for  the  attainment  of  the  “one  far-off  divine  event." 
In  the  strength  of  this  vision  they  will  spend  them¬ 
selves  in  works  of  faith,  labors  of  love,  with  the 
patience  of  hope. 


Ill 

It  is  important,  also,  that  we  consider  the  Christian 
way  of  salvation  in  relation  to  pagan  ways,  and  show 
the  superiority  of  the  one  over  the  others. 

Christianity  doubtless  has  gone  beyond  the  stage 
of  the  natural  and  the  national  religions.  In  principle 
it  is  free  from  magic,  ritualism,  and  legalism.  Ele¬ 
ments  of  these  may  survive  in  the  churches  and  in 
popular  belief  and  practice,  but  they  are  foreign  to 
the  essence  of  Christianity.  It  offers  a  way  of  ethical 
redemption,  in  which  there  is  an  inward  and  organic 
relation  between  religion  and  morality.  The  one  is  the 
root,  the  other  the  fruit. 

In  the  history  of  mankind,  as  we  have  seen  in  the 


CONCLUSIONS  ON  THE  WAY  OF  SALVATION  273 


second  chapter,  two  other  religions  of  redemption  have 
been  evolved  and  propagated, — Buddhism  in  India, 
and  Platonism  in  Greece.  Judaism  and  Christianity 
excepted,  these  are  the  highest  developments  of  re¬ 
ligion.  They  are  universal  in  their  scope,  free  from 
national  and  ritualistic  limitations,  and  are  inward 
and  spiritual  in  their  appeal  and  operations.  They 
are  serious  efforts  on  the  part  of  the  human  spirit  to 
emancipate  itself  from  the  vanity,  the  impermanence, 
the  sorrow,  and  the  ills  of  life.  In  their  scope,  inward¬ 
ness,  and  purpose,  they  are  in  full  accord  with  Chris¬ 
tianity.  Yet  in  their  ideals  and  in  their  effects  they 
differ  widely  from  Christianity. 

They  proceed  from  the  common  premise  that  the 
present  life  is  evil ;  that  there  is  a  higher  form  of  exist¬ 
ence  which  man  can  attain,  and  that,  therefore,  he 
must  rise  above  the  world  in  which  he  now  is.  Buddha, 
through  immediate  illumination,  has  found  the  way  of 
redemption,  ending  in  Nirvana,  the  cessation  of  life 
and  the  absolute  quiescence  of  human  desire  and  en¬ 
deavor.  The  Buddhist  ideal  of  sainthood  is  the  monk. 

Plato  flees  from  the  world,  with  its  rules  and  regu¬ 
lations,  its  narrowness  and  restrictions,  its  baseless 
opinions  and  arbitrary  judgments,  to  the  world  of 
ideas  comprehended  by  the  wise  man;  not  irrational, 
arbitrary,  transient,  but  reasonable,  just,  and  perma¬ 
nent.  Men  are  saved  by  pure  thinking  aided  by  celes¬ 
tial  enthusiasm,  the  heavenly  Eros,  which  enables  the 
reason  to  soar  into  the  realm  of  ideas  and  live  in  fellow¬ 
ship  with  the  gods.  The  Platonic  ideal  of  sainthood 
is  the  philosopher. 

Buddha  and  Plato  present  a  one-sided  and  distorted 
view  of  life.  The  highest  good  of  Buddhism  is  Nirvana, 
the  complete  denial  of  life.  It  is  deliverance,  not 


274  CHRISTIAN  WAYS  OF  SALVATION 

merely  from  sin ;  but  from  life  itself,  which  is  essentially 
^sorrow  and  suffering.  Cessation  of  life  is,  therefore,  the 
.only  way  of  salvation.  Plato  denies  the  value  of  life 
in  the  present  social  order,  the  practical  life  of  the 
world.  He  withdraws  from  it  into  the  realm  of  pure 
ideas,  the  undisturbed  contemplation  of  which  is  the 
supreme  end  and  joy  of  man. 

Buddha,  as  a  necessary  outcome  of  his  view  of  hu¬ 
man  life,  denies  the  personality  and  the  being  of  God. 
Plato  subhmates  the  deity  into  a  mystical  abstraction 
that  can  be  comprehended  or  contemplated  only  by  the 
philosopher.  In  both  religions  there  is  no  vital  relation 
between  the  highest  good  and  moral  endeavor:  the 
one  reaches  the  supreme  blessing  through  inward 
illumination,  the  other  through  clear  thinking;  but  the 
essential  thing  which  religion  has  to  offer  is  obtained 
apart  from  good  and  evil.  Buddhism  has  never  pene¬ 
trated  and  permeated  the  life  of  its  adherents.  It 
has  produced  only  superficial  changes  in  the  nations 
which  have  adopted  it.  Platonism  has  never  become  a 
religion  of  the  people;  it  is  the  way  of  a  small  group 
of  philosophers.  Both  Buddhism  and  Platonism,  in 
the  course  of  centuries,  have  been  modified  and  neu¬ 
tralized  by  compromise  with  ideas  and  customs  alien 
to  their  own  high  demands. 

Jesus  proclaimed  deliverance,  not  from  life  itself; 
but  from  sin,  alienation  from  God.  Buddha  considers 
life  as  a  whole  an  evil;  Christ  considers  sin  in  life  as 
the  only  evil.  Buddha  is  hopelessly  pessimistic  in  his 
estimate  of  the  world  and  its  final  outcome.  Jesus 
is  hopefully  optimistic  in  his  view  of  the  end  of  history 
and  of  man’s  destiny.  As  a  remedy  for  the  misery  of 
life,  Buddha  demands  the  annihilation  of  desire  and 
volition,  the  denial  of  the  will  to  live.  Jesus  affirms 


CONCLUSIONS  ON  THE  WAY  OF  SALVATION  275 


the  will  to  live, — the  abundant  life.  Each  self-denying 
“no”  leads  to  a  self-affirming  “yes.”  God  is  a  free 
person,  an  omnipotent  Father,  with  whom  men  are  to 
live  in  fellowship  as  sons ;  to  share  his  will,  his  purpose, 
his  motive,  and  the  ultimate  victory  of  his  kingdom. 
Each  stage  in  the  world’s  development  is  a  step  toward 
the  divine  goal.  Thus  the  mutations  of  time  and  the 
processes  of  history  are  reconciled  with  the  immuta¬ 
bility  of  the  divine  purpose.  Jesus  satisfies  the  long¬ 
ing  of  men  for  self-preservation  and  growth.  Buddha 
offers  deliverance  by  suppression  of  self  and  extinction 
of  life;  Jesus  proclaims  victory  over  the  grave  and 
entrance  into  the  higher  personal  life  of  God.  Chris¬ 
tianity  saves  not  only  the  individual  but,  through  the 
individual,  the  social  order.  The  Kingdom  of  God  is  al¬ 
ways  coming,  though  never  quite  here.  Yet  its  gradual 
realization  requires  of  its  adherents  a  deliberate  and 
intelligent  conflict  with  evil,  error,  and  opposition,  with 
the  hope  of  final  victory  in  a  supermundane  sphere. 

The  decisive  factor  is  the  character  of  the  ultimate 
being.  Buddha  regards  it  as  impersonal;  hence  per¬ 
sonal  life  is  error  and  deception,  from  which  one  must 
be  saved  in  order  to  be  in  harmony  with  the  universe 
as  a  whole.  Jesus  considered  the  ultimate  being  as 
personal  will  and  love,  and  the  criterion  of  all  abiding 
values.  Men  are  to  become  like  him;  to  share  his 
thought,  his  affections,  and  his  freedom.  If  person¬ 
ality  is  the  end  of  being,  then  Christianity  only,  not 
Buddhism  nor  Pantheism,  offers  the  adequate  way  of 
salvation. 


IV 

What  is  the  relative  value  of  the  ways  of  salvation 
of  the  different  churches?  Each  group  of  churches  has 


276 


CHRISTIAN  WAYS  OF  SALVATION 


its  own  theory  and  methods,  and  claims  biblical  war¬ 
rant  and  divine  authority.  Men  doubtless  have  been 
saved  and  are  being  saved  in  the  Greek  Catholic,  the 
Roman  Catholic,  the  Lutheran,  the  Calvinist,  and  the 
Baptist  Church.  Christ  is  not  limited  to  a  doctrine, 
nor  bound  by  an  ordinance.  These  are  results,  rather 
than  causes,  of  salvation.  Yet  there  must  be  a  power 
working  through  each  of  the  churches,  which,  regard¬ 
less  of  their  differences,  saves  men.  Their  redemptive 
power  cannot  be  a  distinctive  dogma,  rite,  or  institu¬ 
tion  which  divides  one  church  from  another;  it  must 
be  a  spirit  and  a  life  which,  to  a  greater  or  less  extent, 
pervades  all  churches  and  gives  them  the  right  to  be 
called  Christian.  It  is  clear,  however,  that  the  differ¬ 
ent  churches  do  not  convey  the  saving  power  of  Christ 
with  equal  efficacy. 

What  are  the  factors  of  salvation  common  to  all  the 
churches?  Since  redemption  is  an  inward,  personal, 
and  spiritual  process,  it  can  be  imparted  only  in  an  in¬ 
ward,  personal,  and  spiritual  way.  Political,  dogmatic, 
and  ritualistic  forms  may  be  symbols  and  signs  of 
Christ’s  saving  work,  but  they  cannot  be  channels  of 
his  saving  power.  Two  redemptive  factors  are  held 
in  common,  though  under  different  forms,  by  all  the 
churches, — Jesus ,  and  the  community  of  believers. 
Through  Jesus,  as  presented  in  the  Scriptures  and  in 
the  Church, — in  which  his  Spirit  dwells, — men  are 
brought  into  fellowship  with  the  Christlike  God,  who 
by  his  word  and  spirit  begets  faith,  hope,  and  love  in 
the  human  heart.  Where  this  fellowship  is,  there  is 
Christ  and  there  is  salvation.  The  church  which,  by 
virtue  of  its  doctrine,  organization,  and  life,  most 
effectually  sets  forth  Christ  to  men,  and  thus  fills  them 
with  the  Spirit ;  which  expresses  itself  in  works  of  faith. 


CONCLUSIONS  ON  THE  WAY  OF  SALVATION  277 


labors  of  love,  and  the  patience  of  hope, — that  church 
most  adequately  accomplishes  the  Christian  task. 

This,  we  believe,  is  done  most  effectively  by  evan¬ 
gelical  Churches ;  yet  none  of  them  has  realized,  in  its 
thought  and  life,  all  the  implications  and  possibilities 
of  evangelical  Christianity.  In  its  essence  evangelical 
Christianity  is  not  a  dogma,  a  polity,  a  cultus,  or  a 
legal  code,  as  is  so  often  supposed.  It  is  a  spiritual 
experience  born  out  of  a  sense  of  need, — the  need  of 
the  living  God:  not  indeed  a  new  need,  but  an  old 
need  felt  in  a  new  way  in  the  dawn  of  a  new  age.  It 
was  felt  by  prophet  and  psalmist,  by  apostle  and  father, 
by  schoolman  and  reformer.  Each  answered  it  in  his 
own  way  and  in  the  light  of  his  own  day.  Whenever 
a  new  vision  of  God  satisfies  the  cry  of  the  awakened 
heart,  there  is  a  marked  advance  in  the  history  of 
Christianity  and  in  the  religious  life  of  the  race. 

The  elemental  spiritual  needs  of  men  always  voice 
themselves  in  a  threefold  form :  the  need  of  providence, 
the  need  of  grace,  and  the  need  of  truth  or  a  way  of 
life. 

In  the  presence  of  a  universe  with  forces  that  dev¬ 
astate  and  destroy,  and  of  evils  of  the  individual  and 
social  life,  some  in  the  blood  and  some  in  the  air,  God 
needs  to  be  justified  before  men,  as  much  as  men  need 
to  be  justified  before  God.  The  one  is  the  perennial 
problem  of  theodicy;  the  other,  of  soteriology.  The 
evangelical  Reformers  found  a  solution,  not  in  ancient 
philosophy,  in  stoical  defiance,  in  cynical  scorn,  in 
epicurean  indulgence,  or  in  skeptical  negation;  but  in 
childlike  trust  in  a  Christlike  God,  who  upholds  and 
controls  matter  and  mind  in  the  universe  for  the  ulti¬ 
mate  establishment  of  the  reign  of  holy  love.  God  is 
justified  before  men  by  faith  in  divine  providence. 


278 


CHRISTIAN  WAYS  OF  SALVATION 


Men,  then  as  now,  came  to  a  new  sense  of  sin  and 
failure,  and  felt  the  need  of  grace,  the  more  keenly  they 
felt  the  guilt  of  sin.  The  Reformers  were  humiliated 
by  personal  sin;  we,  in  addition,  are  burdened  by  sin 
in  its  overpowering  social  and  national  form.  In  vain 
do  we  seek  riddance  of  sin  by  the  outworn  devices  of 
men,  by  ignoring  it,  by  doing  penance  for  it,  by  for¬ 
getting  it.  Like  the  Reformers,  we  can  find  peace 
only  through  forgiveness,  in  the  free  grace  of  God  re¬ 
vealed  in  Christ  and  appropriated  by  faith.  Men  are 
justified  by  faith  in  a  Christlike  God. 

Men,  then  as  now,  felt  the  need,  not  only  of  divine 
grace  for  the  sinner,  but  of  a  divine  life  for  the  saved. 
In  vain  did  they  follow  the  traditions  of  the  Church, 
or  the  example  of  prophets  and  priests,  of  sages  and 
saints,  or  the  light  of  reason  and  the  promptings  of 
Conscience.  These  were  mostly  blind  guides  leading  the 
blind.  They  found  the  Lord  and  Master,  as  well  as 
the  Savior,  in  the  Godlike  man  who  said,  am  the 
way,  the  truth  and  the  life.’^ 

The  essence  of  evangelical  Christianity,  therefore, 
is  a  spiritual  experience  of  God  in  Christ,  who  satisfies 
the  permanent  threefold  need  of  the  human  soul  by 
revealing  a  God  of  love  who  provides,  a  god  of  grace 
who  forgives,  and  a  God  of  truth  ^ho  guides. 

When  men  have  once  so  found  Christ  and,  through 
him,  direct  access  to  God,  they  will  have  the  freedom 
of  the  Christian  man,  not  only  to  serve  God  in  love,  but 
to  reconcile  the  intolerable  contradictions  between  the 
gospel  and  culture,  which  perplex  the  intellect,  burden 
the  conscience,  and  stir  up  bitter  hatred.  True,  men 
are  saved  without  such  reconciliation,  without  enjoying 
the  ripe  fruit  of  salvation.  They  are  like  the  prisoner 
who  is  told  that  he  is  free, — that  the  doors  of  his  cell 


1 

CONCLUSIONS  ON  THE  WAY  OF  SALVATION  279 


are  thrown  open,  the  guards  removed,  the  prison  gates 
standing  ajar, — and  yet,  with  all  the  joy  of  freedom 
in  his  heart,  never  goes  out  of  his  prison  under  the 
open  sky  and  into  the  unbounded  landscape.  He  is 
free,  but  he  does  not  take  advantage  of  his  glorious 
liberty. 

So  there  are  vast  multitudes  of  Christians  who  have 
the  power  of  salvation  in  their  hearts  and  who  live  the 
Christian  life,  and  who  yet  are  still  hedged  in  by 
opinions,  traditions,  customs,  and  institutions  that, 
though  merely  incidental  to  salvation,  were  once 
thought  essential  to  it.  Christians  may  simply  ignore 
these  contradictions.  Some  may  be  content  to  abide 
by  tradition  without  attempting  a  reconciliation. 
Others  may  be  alienated  from  the  faith  and  follow  the 
light  of  culture,  believing  that  religion  and  reason  are 
irreconcilable.  Sooner  or  later,  however,  a  reconcilia¬ 
tion  must  be  made,  in  the  interest  both  of  sound  re¬ 
ligion  and  of  pure  science.  Our  spiritual  self-preserva¬ 
tion  and  our  faith  in  the  sovereignty  of  God  demand 
it.  The  problem  cannot  be  solved  by  superficial  com¬ 
promise.  ^‘The  patient  endurance  of  a  condition  of 
mental  contradiction  is  always  an  indication  of  a  feeble 
concentration  of  life;  it  is  characteristic  of  the  mental 
life  of  children,  of  primitive  historical  epochs,  and  of 
the  condition  of  average  humanity,  and  contrasts  with 
the  demands  which  issue  from  our  spiritual  freedom.” 

Christianity  is  a  ministry  of  reconciliation.  It  is 
not  world-exclusive,  but  world-inclusive.  It  is  not  a 
mere  adjunct  to  human  life,  a  department  alongside 
of  other  departments.  It  is  a  spirit  pervading,  trans¬ 
forming,  and  completing  every  form  of  human  ac¬ 
tivity.  Nothing  cosmic,  nothing  human,  nothing  tem- 

“  Eucken,  “Main  Currents  of  Modern  Thought/’  p.  91. 


280 


CHRISTIAN  WAYS  OF  SALVATION 


poral  or  eternal,  is  foreign  to  Christianity.  It  unites 
infinitely  diverse  orders  of  being  into  the  harmony  of 
a  glorious  universe.  For,  '‘all  things  are  summed  up 
in  Christ,  the  things  in  the  heavens  and  the  things 
upon  the  earth.’’  The  arts  will  not  become  less  but 
more  scientific,  when  artists  and  scientists  become 
Christians.  Christians,  also,  may  become  more  scien¬ 
tific,  and,  because  of  their  science,  reach  an  infinitely 
grander  conception  of  the  universe  than  did  psalmist 
or  prophet.  Christianity  is  a  ministry  of  reconciliation 
between  human  discovery  and  divine  revelation,  be¬ 
tween  pagan  virtues  and  Christian  graces,  between 
matter  and  mind,  between  God  and  man. 

Historical,  literary,  scientific,  and  philosophic  inves¬ 
tigation  and  thought  must  be  brought  into  harmony 
with  the  Christian  ideals.  The  student  works  in  the 
laboratory  and  observatory,  deciphers  the  records  on 
rocks  and  tablets,  traces  the  origin  of  species  and  the 
descent  of  man,  resolves  ancestor  worship  into  mere 
heredity  and  nature-worship  into  mere  environment, 
sees  things  as  genetic  and  not  static,  finds  a  God  work¬ 
ing  by  process  and  not  by  fiat,  faces  the  hostile  and 
devastating  forces  in  nature  and  the  more  terrible  and 
pitiless  wrath  of  men  and  nations,  a  world  bleeding 
at  every  pore; — in  the  presence  of  all  this,  he  must  be 
convinced  not  only  that  we  can  still  be  Christians,  but 
that  the  best  results  of  time  and  the  deepest  experi¬ 
ences  of  the  modern  man  demand  that,  to  be  true  to 
all  the  facts  and  phenomena  of  life,  we  must  be  Chris¬ 
tians.  Professor  Ross,  a  political  scientist,  says:  "Is 
it  not  wonderful  that  in  the  Gospels  we  find  provided 
just  the  religion  which  is  best  suited  to  realize  the 
sociologist’s  ideal?” 


CHAPTER  XII 


CONCLUSIONS  ON  THE  WAY  OF  SALVATION 
THE  EVANGELICAL  WAY 

Let  us  consider  the  evangelical  way  of  salvation  in 
its  relation  to  the  Bible;  to  creeds,  confessions,  and 
theologies;  to  ecclesiastical  ordinances  and  rites;  to 
the  scientific  view  of  the  world ;  and  to  the  divisions  in 
the  church. 


I 

What  is  the  significance  of  the  Bible  according  to 
the  evangelical  interpretation  of  the  gospel?  Often  it 
is  considered  a  mark  of  a  high  degree  of  faith  when 
a  man  says  that  he  believes  the  Bible  from  cover  to 
cover.  It  is  hard  to  decide  who  is  farthest  afield: 
the  man  who  boasts  that  he  believes  everything  in  the 
Bible,  or  the  one  who  boasts  that  he  believes  nothing. 
We  have  as  little  confidence  in  the  faith  of  the  one 
as  respect  for  the  doubt  of  the  other.  Neither  has 
fought  his  way  through  the  dijficulties  of  faith  and" 
“made  a  stronger  faith  his  own.” 

Certain  it  is  that  such  implicit  faith  did  not  exist 
in  all  Israel  and  not  in  the  early  church.  None  of  the 
biblical  saints  ever  read  the  sixty-six  books  of  the 
Bible.  Neither  the  Apostles  nor  the  Fathers  had  our 
Bible  from  cover  to  cover.  The  evangelical  Reformers 
distinguished  between  gospel  and  Scripture,  and  yet 

281 


282  CHRISTIAN  WAYS  OF  SALVATION 

they  never  freed  themselves  from  the  bondage  of 
biblical  literalism^  The  churches  of  the  seventeenth 
century  exalted  the  Bible  into  an  infallible  and  inerrant 
oracle  in  proportion  as  faith  in  the  living  Christ,  rooted 
in  personal  experience  of  salvation,  died  down.  The 
churches  of  to-day  are  their  heirs,  and  have  not  been 
able  to  discriminate  between  saving  faith  in  the  grace 
of  God  manifested  in  Jesus  Christ  and  the  blind  ac¬ 
ceptance  of  everything  written  in  the  Bible.  They 
resolve  the  Bible  into  an  infallible  revelation  of  all 
things  in  heaven  and  earth, — things  past,  present,  and 
future;  things  relating  to  science,  art,  history,  arch- 
seology, — even  into  a  blue  print  of  human  history 
and  of  the  future  destiny  of  the  race.  How  much  finer 
and  truer  is  PauFs  definition  of  the  purpose  of  the 
Scriptures,  in  his  letter  to  the  Romans,  15:4:  “For 
whatsoever  things  were  written  aforetime  were  written 
for  our  learning,  that  through  patience  and  through 
comfort  of  the  Scriptures  we  might  have  hope.”  The 
Bible  is  not  to  teach  science,  art,  history;  but  to  beget 
in  men  the  essential  and  eternal  elements  of  the  Chris¬ 
tian  life,  which  no  science  or  art  can  ever  generate, — 
faith,  hope,  and  love.  The  Bible  is  the  book  of  life 
because  it  inspires  and  nurtures  life;  it  is  the  word  of 
God  because  it  shows  men  God  in  all  the  relations  of 
life.  It  is  not  a  compend  of  doctrines  and  of  laws  to 
take  the  place  of  a  far-off  God,  but  a  revelation  of  a 
God  who  is  ever-present  and  ever- working  in  the  world 
and  in  the  bosom  of  humanity.  The  Bible  is  abused, 

all  events  Luther  here  remained  by  the  canon  of  the  Scrip¬ 
tures,  though  at  bottom  only  that  was  for  him  the  word  of  God 
which  played  a  role  in  his  experience  of  salvation.  Accordingly  he 
identified  in  a  Table  Talk  on  Erasmus  the  Holy  Scriptures  and  the 
word  of  God,  and  so  expressed  preference  too  often  for  inadequate 
traditions  instead  of  new  doctrinal  expositions. — Zickendraht,  “Eras¬ 
mus  and  Luther,”  LXI.  2060. 


CONCLUSIONS  ON  THE  WAY  OF  SALVATION  283 


not  used,  when  it  is  made  a  book  of  laws  and  promises, 
an  oracle  of  science  and  history  as  well  as  of  religion. 
It  fails  in  its  purpose  unless  it  leads  men  beyond  itself, 
into  fellowship  with  God  in  Christ  and  with  the 
brotherhood  of  believers.  Then  only  are  the  Scriptures 
a  means  of  salvation  and  the  way  of  life. 

II 

Another  annoying  and  disturbing  contradiction  exists  ‘ 
between  the  faith  of  the  Christian  and  the  traditional 
creeds  and  confessions.  The  acceptance  of  these  is 
often — if  not  directly,  at  least  by  implication — made 
a  condition  of  salvation.  What  are  creeds  and  con¬ 
fessions?  Presumably  they  are  transcripts,  in  brief 
form,  of  the  Bible.  Since  the  Bible  is  infallible,  so 
must  the  creeds  be;  for  they  are  taken  from  the  Bible. 
In  fact,  however,  creeds  and  confessions  are  attempts 
on  the  part  of  men  to  put  into  intellectual  and  literary 
forms  their  experiences  of  God  and  salvation.  They 
are  confessions  of  faith,  and  as  such  serve  a  valuable 
purpose  for  clarifying  the  mind  and  for  propagating 
the  gospel.  But  they  lose  their  virtue  when  they  are 
turned  into  laws  of  faith  which  men  must  accept, 
whether  they  share  the  experience  out  of  which  they 
have  grown  or  not.  Formal  assent  of  this  kind  is  the 
essence  of  Catholicism  and  the  death  of  evangelical 
freedom. 

Creeds  and  confessions  must  contain  the  content  of 
men’s  experience  of  God  in  Christ;  they  must  bear 
witness  to  what  men  have  seen  and  heard,  handled  and 
felt,  of  the  Word  of  life.  Only  what  is  credible  ought 
to  be  allowed  in  a  creed.  In  other  words,  facts  or 
affirmations  that  must  be  proved  by  logic  or  by  his- 


284  CHRISTIAN  WAYS  OF  SALVATION 

torical  investigation  do  not  belong  to  a  confession  of 
faith,  but  only  that  which  will  approve  itself  to  a  per¬ 
son  who  lives  the  life  of  faith  working  in  love.  A  con¬ 
fession,  therefore,  must  be  the  expression  of  God’s 
revelation  to  us  and  in  us  at  a  particular  time,  and 
must  be  put  into  the  language  of  our  age.  It  may 
coincide  with  the  creeds  and  confessions  of  the  past; 
the  chances  are  that  it  will  contain  the  essential  ele¬ 
ments  of  the  historic  creeds,  for  in  substance  the  ex¬ 
perience  of  salvation  is  the  same  in  every  age.  Yet 
the  forms  of  expression  will  vary ;  and  the  content  may 
be  limited,  as  it  ought  to  be,  to  things  religious;  but 
thus  far  creeds  have  included  things  philosophic, 
scientific,  and  historical  that  are  no  longer  tenable. 
Deeply  religious  persons,  in  whom  Christianity  is  life, 
will  chafe  under  the  limitations  of  ancient  formulas; 
not  because  they  have  less  faith,  but  because  they  have 
more  faith  and  need  statements  that  are  commensurate 
with  their  faith.  None,  however,  but  he  who  enjoys 
the  experience  and  the  freedom  of  evangelical  Chris¬ 
tianity,  is  in  a  position  safely  and  consistently  to  make 
the  reconciliation  between  the  ancient  creeds  and  con¬ 
fessions  and  contemporary  Christian  experience  and 
thought. 

Ill 

The  Socinians  and  the  rationalists  are  not  qualified 
to  criticize  the  doctrines  of  the  trinity,  the  two  natures 
of  Christ,  the  atonement,  and  the  resurrection.  They 
cannot,  in  the  nature  of  the  case,  understand  them,  for 
they  do  not  share  the  spiritual  experiences  out  of  which 
they  came.  To  the  natural  man,  they  will  forever  re¬ 
main  unreasonable.  No  mere  scholar,  philosopher, 


CONCLUSIONS  ON  THE  WAY  OF  SALVATION  285 


scientist,  or  humanist  can  ever  find  God  in  Christ  and 
Christ  in  God.^  Only  they  who  are  saved  by  the 
power  of  the  gospel  will  know  that  Jesus  is  Savior 
and  Lord.  Then  only  will  the  christological  and  trini¬ 
tarian  problem  arise.  Only  the  saved  can  rightly 
answer  the  questions:  What  think  ye  of  Christ?  and, 
How  is  Christ  related  to  God?  Through  centuries  of 
spiritual  struggle  and  bitter  controversy,  the  Christian 
group  formulated  their  experience  of  salvation  through 
Jesus  Christ  in  terms  of  Greek  philosophy  in  the  Nicene 
theology  and  the  Chalcedonian  christology, — the  trinity 
of  the  Godhead  and  the  deity  of  Jesus.  These  doc¬ 
trines  were  life,  flowed  in  the  blood  and  pulsated  in 
the  heart,  before  they  became  formulas.  Men  who 
do  not  share  that  life,  the  salvation  which  the  doc¬ 
trines  explain,  must  forever  remain  blind  to  the  mean¬ 
ing  and  value  of  the  doctrines.  They  will  reject  them 
without  making  the  fine  distinction  between  the  spirit 
which  they  are  intended  to  embody  and  the  form  in 
which  the  spirit  was  embodied. 

The  German  and  Swiss  Reformers  felt  the  power  of 
salvation  before  they  criticized  the  traditions  of  the 
Church.  In  consequence,  they  revitalized  the  articles 
of  the  ancient  creeds,  so  interpreting  the  old  statements 
as  to  make  them  harmonize  with  their  own  experience 
and  knowledge  of  Christ;  and  herein  they  were  far 
nearer  the  truth  than  were  the  Socinians  in  Italy  and 
the  Unitarians  in  Poland.  Yet  they  did  not  finally 
solve  the  problem  which  evangelical  Christianity 
necessarily  raised.  They  simply  settled  it  for  a  time 

^  Luther  taught  that  he  who  comprehends,  through  the  Spirit,  the 
Trinity,  the  God-Manhood  and  the  redemptive  death,  comprehends 
the  whole  Bible;  otherwise  the  Bible  and  its  faith  cannot  be  under¬ 
stood  by  the  best  student  of  the  Scriptures. — Zickendraht,  “Erasmus 
and  Luther,”  p.  65. 


286  CHRISTIAN  WAYS  OF  SALVATION 

by  compromise  :  at  that  stage  they  could  not  have  done 
better. 

They  emphasized  the  redemptive  work  of  Christ,  if 
anything  more,  not  less,  than  did  the  Greek  theolo¬ 
gians.  For  they  felt  salvation  to  be  wholly  and  solely 
the  work  of  God^s  grace  revealed  by  Jesus  Christ.  He 
is,  therefore,  not  less  but  more  Savior  and  Lord  than  in 
the  Greek  view  of  redemption.  But  the  evangeHcal 
criterion  of  deity  is  different  from  that  of  the  Nicene 
Fathers.  It  is  not  a  metaphysical  formula,  but  a  re¬ 
ligious  experience  of  saving  grace.  Luther  recognized 
the  deity  of  Jesus  ^hn  that  He  has  a  gracious  will  to 
pity  and  to  help.’’ 

This  is  the  problem  which  the  Reformers  temporarily 
settled  by  compromise,  and  which  we  must  solve.  The 
new  life  that  was  moving  in  the  Church  of  the  sixteenth 
century  ^Vould  have  required  a  wholly  new  theology 
to  match  it,  but  to  the  production  of  such  a  theology 
the  Protestant  Church  was  for  the  time  unequal.”  ^ 
Evangelical  theologians  cannot  and  ought  not  to  be 
content,  until  they  have  found  a  satisfactory  solution. 
They  must  work  out  a  theology  and  a  christology  that 
will  square  with  the  evangelical  experience  of  salvation 
and  with  the  metaphysics  and  psychology  of  our  age. 
Such  a  doctrine,  we  believe,  will  exalt  the  deity  of 
Jesus  far  more  than  did  the  Nicene  or  the  Chalcedonian 
christology,  but  in  terms  that  are  consonant  with  our 
experience  and  our  culture. 

IV 

With  our  conception  of  salvation  in  mind,  it  ought 
not  to  be  difficult  to  escape  from  the  bondage  of 

“Denney,  “Christian  Doctrine  of  Reconciliation,”  p.  92. 


CONCLUSIONS  ON  THE  WAY  OF  SALVATION  287 


ecclesiastical  rites  and  ordinances.  It  can  easily  be 
understood  how  men  with  a  firm  belief  in  an  inerrant 
Bible  which  prescribes  both  the  doctrines  and  the  gov¬ 
ernment  of  the  Church,  or  with  an  equally  firm  belief 
in  an  inerrant  Church  whose  traditions  and  ordinances 
have  divine  sanction  and  permanent  validity,  will  con¬ 
found  a  form  of  government,  a  dogma,  a  mode  of  bap¬ 
tism,  a  theory  of  ordination,  with  the  essentials  of  sal¬ 
vation.  But  in  the  light  of  the  evangelical  experience, 
both  of  the  doctrine  of  justification  by  grace  through 
faith,  and  of  the  church  as  the  community  of  the  saved 
who  both  have  salvation  and  mediate  it  in  personal 
and  spiritual  ways,  it  is  difiicult  to  exalt  a  mode  of 
baptism,  a  theory  of  apostolic  succession,  a  dogmatic 
definition  of  the  Lord’s  Supper,  or  a  form  of  church 
government  into  an  essential,  and  to  permit  it  to  divide 
the  Christian  brotherhood  and  to  interfere  with  the 
free  activity  of  the  Spirit  in  the  salvation  of  men. 

Recent  efforts  at  church  union,  however,  have  proved 
that  the  adherence  to  incidentals  and  to  transient  his¬ 
torical  formulas  is  too  strong  to  permit  organic  union 
of  the  evangelical  churches, — a  union  that  must  be 
based  upon  the  experience  of  salvation,  and  not  upon 
the  common  acceptance  of  a  dogma  or  an  ordinance. 
When  we  have  a  deeper  and  broader  experience  of  the 
changeless  evangelical  realities,  our  ecclesiastical  forms 
and  formulas  will  become  inadequate  and  irksome,  and 
we  shall  be  ready  to  lay  them  aside  as  garments  that 
are  worn  out.  We  shall  not  be  content  to  be  Catholic, 
Episcopalian,  Presbyterian,  Lutheran,  Reformed,  Bap¬ 
tist,  or  Methodist.  We  shall  need  a  larger  term  for  a 
wider  experience.  Nothing  less  than  ^‘Evangelical 
Christian”  will  satisfy  us.  We  shall  cease  to  pronounce 
denominational  shibboleths,  and  in  the  power  of  a  new 


288 


CHRISTIAN  WAYS  OF  SALVATION 


life  born  of  the  Holy  Spirit  we  shall  proclaim  with 
heart,  voice,  and  hand  the  evangel  of  Christ. 

When  we  are  thus  united  by  the  spirit  of  God  in 
hope  and  faith  and  love,  with  full  confidence  in  one 
another  and  with  supreme  loyalty  to  Christ  we  shall 
declare  ourselves  before  the  world — what  we  in  fact 
are — the  united  church  of  Christ.  Then  our  Lord’s 
prayer  for  the  unity  of  believers  will  be  answered: 
“that  they  may  all  be  one;  even  as  thou,  Father,  art  in 
me,  and  I  in  thee,  that  they  also  may  be  in  us.”  After 
a  spiritual  unity  of  this  kind  is  once  begotten  in  us, 
then  we  shall  take  our  time — as  did  the  Fathers  in 
ancient  councils  and  modern  assemblies — to  work  out 
a  form  of  doctrine,  a  system  of  government,  a  mode 
of  worship,  and  a  way  of  life  that  will  be  true  to  the 
Christ  of  the  New  Testament,  to  the  Christ  in  us,  and 
to  the  democratic  spirit  of  our  age.  In  the  meantime, 
let  us  work  and  pray  in  the  spirit  of  the  prophets,  with 
the  patience  of  the  saints,  and  with  the  courage  of  our 
Lord. 


V 

The  necessity  of  reconciling  the  Christian  faith  with 
the  conclusions  of  philosophy  and  science  has  been 
borne  home  to  us  through  recent  developments  in 
church  assemblies  and  by  the  action  of  a  state  legisla¬ 
ture.  Questions  that  we  thought  were  put  to  rest  have 
leapt  into  life  again. 

The  result  of  Greek  culture,  of  medieval  scholasti¬ 
cism,  and  of  the  philosophy  of  the  eighteenth  century, 
proves  the  inadequacy  of  human  reason  to  solve  the 
mysteries  of  life.  Human  life  transcends  the  under¬ 
standing  of  men:  it  extends  beyond  the  reach  of  the 
logical  mind.  Indeed,  reason  turns  against  itself, 


CONCLUSIONS  ON  THE  WAY  OF  SALVATION  289 


criticizes  its  own  results,  and  destroys  its  own  authority. 
The  age  of  philosophy  is  followed  by  the  age'  of  science. 
Men  set  themselves  the  task  of  finding  trustworthy 
and  indubitable  facts  and  ideas  by  investigation  and 
induction.  Scientists,  however,  are  limited  to  the 
tangible  and  visible  universe,  the  world  of  the  micro¬ 
scope  and  telescope.  If  they  stay  within  their  bounds, 
and  are  true  to  their  data,  they  will  end  in  materialism 
or  agnosticism.  But  even  less  than  philosophic  ideal¬ 
ism  does  the  materialistic  or  agnostic  view  of  life  cover 
the  field  of  human  experience.  Man  knows,  in  spite  of 
what  science  may  declare,  that  there  is  something  more 
than  matter,  greater  than  men.  He  finds  access  to  a 
world  of  reality  into  which  science  cannot  enter,  and 
from  which  he  will  not  permit  science  to  bar  him.^ 

I  found  Him  not  in  world  or  sun. 

Or  eagle’s  wing,  or  insect’s  eye; 

Nor  thro’  the  questions  men  may  try. 

The  petty  cobwebs  we  have  spun: 

If  e’er,  when  faith  had  fall’n  asleep, 

I  heard  a  voice,  “Believe  no  more,” 

And  heard  an  ever-breaking  shore 
That  tumbled  in  the  Godless  deep ; 

A  warmth  within  the  breast  would  melt 
The  freezing  reason’s  colder  part. 

And  like  a  man  in  wrath  the  heart 
Stood  up  and  answer’d,  “I  have  felt.” 

— Tennyson,  In  Memoriam,  cxxiv. 

‘“Science  is  not  religion,  nor  can  it  become  a  substitute  for  re¬ 
ligion.  Religion  is  and  must  remain  essentially  in  the  realm  of 
faith ;  it  necessarily  transcends  science,  but  it  can  and  should  become 
a  rational  faith,  energizing  men  for  better  living  both  individually 
and  socially,  and  seeking  the  aid  of  science,  especially  the  social 
sciences,  for  the  building  of  a  better  human  world.” — Ellwood,  “The 
Reconstruction  of  Religion,”  Preface,  xi. 


290 


CHRISTIAN  WAYS  OF  SALVATION 


On  this  account,  paradoxical  as  it  may  seem  in  this 
age  of  science,  there  is  an  astounding  spread  of  spirit¬ 
ualism,  mysticism,  Christian  science;  and  a  strong 
reaction  towards  an  uncompromising  orthodoxy  and  a 
militant  fundamentalism. 

The  Christian  need  no  more  be  a  scientist,  in  order 
to  know  God  and  Christ  and  to  enjoy  salvation,  than 
the  child  need  be  a  psychologist,  in  order  to  love  and 
trust  his  mother.  Fellowship  with  Christ  is  as  inde¬ 
pendent  of  science  as  it  is  of  theology.  Yet  the  irre¬ 
sistible  urge  in  the  mind  of  man  to  reconciliation  of 
contradictions  compels  us  to  harmonize  science  and 
Christianity.  It  is  the  task  of  the  Christian  theologian 
to  relate  the  gospel  of  Jesus  Christ,  the  Christian  ex¬ 
perience  of  salvation,  and  the  way  of  life,  to  the  uni¬ 
verse  and  to  human  life  as  a  whole.  Lie  is  to  do  for 
us  what  Paul,  Clement  of  Alexandria,  Augustine, 
Thomas  Aquinas,  and  Schleiermacher  did,  each  for  his 
age.  Yet  his  problem  is  different,  and  perhaps  more 
difficult  than  theirs.  At  any  rate,  their  solutions  will 
not  answer  our  needs.  Professor  Cross,  of  the  Baptist 
Seminary  at  Rochester,  says:  ^‘Such  a  task  far  out¬ 
ranges,  in  its  sweep  and  depth  of  penetration  into  the 
truth  of  things,  the  labors  of  the  theologians  of  earlier 
times.”  For  we  cannot  escape  the  feeling  that  the 
value  of  modern  life  must  have  been  enhanced  by 
Bacon,  Locke,  Kant,  Hegel,  Darwin,  and  Spencer.  Our 
industrial  order,  based  upon  the  results  of  science  and 
of  inventive  genius,  must  have  its  significance  for  the 
Kingdom  of  God:  it  is  evidence  of  progress,  not  of 
apostasy  and  retrogression.  It  imposes  upon  the 
theologian  the  task  of  relating  the  gospel  of  Jesus  to 
recent  inventions  and  discoveries,  to  sane  and  sound 
conclusions  of  philosophy.  Yet  not  for  a  moment  is 


CONCLUSIONS  ON  THE  WAY  OF  SALVATION  291 


he  bound  by  scientific  methods  and  conclusions.  The 
scientist  must  not  turn  theologian,  and  the  theologian 
must  not  turn  scientist.  Each  has  his  world,  his  way 
of  knowledge,  and  his  method  of  operation.  When 
each  remains  true  to  his  task  and  to  his  sphere,  the 
results  of  both  will  be  readily  harmonized. 

The  Christian  will  always  think  of  God  in  terms  of 
Christ.  For  him  God  is  Christlike.  He  will  come  to 
him  and  know  him  through  childlike  faith.  The  tech¬ 
nical  terms  of  theology,  taken  from  philosophy,  have 
no  meaning  for  the  believer.  The  minister  of  the  gospel 
must  bear  witness  to  Christ  in  the  language  of  com¬ 
mon  experience.  The  heart  will  respond  with  faith 
and  love.  Lectures  on  divine  immanence  and  on  evo¬ 
lution  will  not  save  men.®  The  theologian,  however,  is 
to  make  it  clear  that  in  the  results  of  science  and  the 
conclusions  of  philosophy  there  is  nothing  contradic¬ 
tory  to  the  revelation  of  Jesus  and  to  his  way  of  sal¬ 
vation.  He  is  to  make  it  equally  clear  that  the  philo¬ 
sophic  idea  of  an  immanent  God  is  not  the  equivalent 
of  the  Christian  view  of  God ;  who  is  an  ethical  person, 
not  in  process  of  becoming,  nor  confined  to  the  limits 
of  the  natural  universe.  His  relation  to  the  world 
is  determined  not  by  physical  necessity,  but  by  divine 
volition.  With  men,  also,  he  deals  as  with  free  agents. 

®  “The  epithets  ‘immanent’  and  ‘transcendent’  are  a  foreign  lan¬ 
guage  to  Christianity.  Yet  if  ‘immanent’  means  that  God  is  always 
giving  Himself  to  His  world,  and  thereby  sustaining  it  in  whatever 
degree  of  reality  belongs  to  its  successive  stages,  then  the  God  of 
Christianity  is  ‘immanent’  with  an  intensity  and  seriousness  which 
leaves  Spinozism  far  behind.  And,  if  ‘transcendent’  means  in  plain 
words  that  God  knows  what  He  is  about,  that  He  is  preparing  a 
world  capable  of  receiving  His  perfect  self-communication,  then  the 
God  of  Christianity  is  ‘transcendent,’  with  a  glory  that  belongs  not  to 
the  Greek  Absolute  or  the  Roman  Imperator.”— T.  B.  Kilpatrick, 
Art.  “Soteriology,”  Hastings,  “Encyclopedia  of  Religion  and  Ethics,” 
XI.  p.  723. 


292 


CHRISTIAN  WAYS  OF  SALVATION 


Moral  reason  and  Christian  revelation  tell  us  that  God 
is  ethically  transcendent.  In  this  view  only  can  we 
account  for  the  sense  of  sin  and  guilt,  which  otherwise 
would  be  reduced  to  error  and  imperfection.  The  deep¬ 
est  instincts  and  the  ripest  moral  judgment  of  the  race 
will  not  permit  that. 

Nor  will  the  Christian  consciousness  ever  be  satisfied 
to  regard  Jesus  merely  as  a  great  teacher,  a  prophet, 
or  a  religious  genius.  His  followers  from  the  beginning 
have  ranked  him  with  God.  He  is  a  new  species  of 
.man  and  a  new  form  of  God  in  the  world.  Through 
YAhim  men  have  received  new  life,  for  which  science 
cannot  account  and  which  philosophy  cannot  under¬ 
stand.  Christianity  is,  therefore,  not  one  of  many  re¬ 
ligions,  or  merely  a  stage  in  the  religious  development 
of  the  race.  The  religions  and  the  races  of  men  are 
complete  in  him.  His  revelation  is  a  final  historical 
product.  In  principle  it  cannot  be  surpassed  and  in 
practice  it  cannot  be  exhausted.  The  ethics  of  the 
gospel,  rooted  in  faith  and  love,  has  never  been  fully 
realized,  much  less  superseded.  We  believe  its  ideals 
to  be  absolute  and  final,  equally  applicable  to  the  an¬ 
cient  and  the  modem  man. 

These  convictions  about  God,  Jesus,  and  the  Chris¬ 
tian  life,  can  be  neither  proved  nor  disproved  by  science 
or  philosophy.  They  are  independent  of  any  specific 
view  of  the  world,  whether  mythological  or  scientific. 
They  must  approve  themselves  in  the  heart  of  the 
Christian  through  faith  working  in  love, — which  the 
understanding  of  the  natural  man  cannot  grasp. 

Science  and  philosophy,  however,  may  compel  us  to 
give  up,  or  to  modify,  many  traditions,  doctrines,  and 
practices.  But  their  conclusions  do  not  compel  us  to 
break  with  the  fundamental  truths  of  Christianity. 


CONCLUSIONS  ON  THE  WAY  OF  SALVATION  293 


Professor  Troeltsch,  a  liberal  theologian  and  a  master 
of  philosophy,  significantly  says: 

The  gospel  always  remains  distinctly  and  clearly  a  prom¬ 
ise  of  redemption,  leading  from  the  world,  nature,  and  sin, 
from  sorrow  and  error,  to  God.  In  this  world  we  cannot 
find  the  last  word  of  God.  The  significance  of  the  classic 
primitive  period,  the  time  when  Christians  were  indifferent 
to  the  world,  will  always  call  our  hearts  from  culture  and 
immanence  to  that  world  which  is  above  both. 


As  we  look  back  over  the  ground  we  have  covered, 
we  cannot  help  but  feel  that  there  is  in  man  an  un¬ 
quenchable  striving  upward,  and  that  on  the  heights 
there  is  One  who  has  an  irresistible  longing  down¬ 
wards: — the  heights  calling  unto  the  depths,  and  the 
depths  responding  to  the  heights.  Man  is  always 
seeking  to  rise  above  himself;  God  is  always  seeking 
to  impart  himself.  Man  needs  God,  and  God  wants 
men.  This  is  the  ultimate  motive  of  religion.  In  all 
ages  the  superior  spirits  of  the  race  have  dwelt  on  the 
mountain  tops;  the  masses  have  toiled  on  the  plain, 
restless  and  discontented.  All  of  them  have  felt  the 
lure  and  the  urge  of  the  supramundane  and  the  super¬ 
human,  which  they  call  God.  That  which  they  groped 
after,  strove  for,  aspired  to, — that  at  last  was  reached 
in  Jesus  Christ.  Never  more  than  when  you  have 
studied  the  history  of  religion,  from  animism  to  Plato¬ 
nism,  do  you  appreciate  the  greatness  of  the  words 
recorded  by  John:  am  the  way,  and  the  truth,  and 

the  life:  no  one  cometh  unto  the  Father,  but  by  me.” 

Men  are  still  like  ‘finfants  ciying  in  the  night,  cry¬ 
ing  for  the  light,  with  no  language  but  a  cry.”  The 
cave-dweller  and  the  philosopher  are  close  to  each 
other,  and  yet  far  apart.  Each  has  the  upward  look 


294 


CHRISTIAN  WAYS  OF  SALVATION 


and  outward  reach.  Some  day  they  will  see  the  glori¬ 
ous  blaze  and  grasp  the  blessed  prize. 

Paracelsus  voices  the  hope  of  man  in  cave  or  in 
palace : 

I  shall  arrive!  What  time,  what  circuit  first, 

I  ask  not;  but  unless  God  send  his  hail 
Of  blinding  fireballs,  sleet  or  stifling  snow, 

In  some  time,  his  good  time,  I  shall  arrive: 

He  guides  me  and  the  bird.  In  his  good  time  1 

The  gospel  came  into  the  world,  not  as  a  doctrine 
or  a  law,  but  as  glad  tidings  and  as  the  power  of  God. 
The  glad  tidings  were  proclaimed  by  Jesus,  and  the 
power  of  God  proceeded  from  him  for  the  salvation 
of  men.  Through  him  they  were  saved  from  their 
sins  and  entered  into  the  abundant  life.  They  were 
saved,  and  they  helped  to  save  others. 

The  glad  tidings  must  always  be  found  in  the  Scrip¬ 
tures;  the  power  of  God,  in  the  Church,  composed  of 
men  and  women  in  whom  the  spirit  of  Jesus  abides. 
Through  the  Scriptures  and  through  the  Church,  the 
community  of  the  saved  and  the  saints,  salvation  is 
given  unto  the  world.  The  power  of  it  cannot  be 
defined :  it  must  be  felt.  It  cannot  be  conveyed  through* 
material  vehicles,  but  must  be  communicated  by  per¬ 
sonal  contact.  Life  alone  begets  life.  It  is  personal 
love, — living,  serving,  suffering,  sacrificing,  dying,  con¬ 
quering  love, — manifested  in  the  life,  death,  resurrec¬ 
tion,  and  glorification  of  Jesus,  that  is  the  power  of 
God  unto  salvation. 

The  response  of  man  to  the  love  of  God  in  Christ 
is  faith, — faith  working  in  love.  The  saving  power  of 
God  must  forever  be  appropriated  by  faith  and  applied 
in  love.  Faith  cannot  be  begotten  by  reason,  or  com- 


CONCLUSIONS  ON  THE  WAY  OF  SALVATION  295 


pelled  by  authority,  but  must  be  born  of  the  Spirit 
in  the  heart.  Faith  corneth  by  hearing,  and  hearing 
by  the  word  of  God. 

What  is  not  born  of  faith  is  foreign  to  the  gospel 
and  to  Christian  theology.  Faith  must  be  kept  free 
from  the  impediments  of  dogma,  ritual,  tradition,  and 
custom.  It  must  pulsate  in  the  heart;  and  work  as 
an  invincible  and  all-conquering  spirit  in  living  men, 
in  the  fellowship  of  believers.  They  are  the  means 
of  grace,  the  bearers  of  salvation  to  a  sinful  world. 

Salvation  is  more  than  a  free  gift;  it  is  also  a  divine 
task.  The  divine  dynamic  in  us  must  work  itself  out 
in  a  life  of  personal  holiness  and  righteousness,  and 
of  social  justice  and  peace, — a  human  brotherhood. 
Through  the  conversion  of  the  individual  God  works 
with  men  for  a  new  order  of  life, — domestic,  industrial, 
political,  national  and  international, — a  new  humanity. 
Salvation  completes  itself  in  the  transformation  of 
nations  into  the  Kingdom  of  God,  in  the  reign  of 
righteousness  and  love  in  the  hearts  of  the  rulers  and 
the  peoples  of  the  earth.  ^^And  I  saw  a  new  heaven 
and  a  new  earth:  for  the  first  heaven  and  the  first 
earth  are  passed  away;  and  the  sea  is  no  more.” 


CHAPTER  XIII 


A  CEEDIBLE  CREED 

A  TENTATIVE  confessioH  of  faith  was  submitted  to 
the  General  Assembly  of  the  United  Free  Church  of 
Scotland,  May,  1921,^  and  the  Assembly,  after  due 
consideration,  commended  it  ^^to  the  interest  and  study 
of  the  members  of  the  Church/^  The  articles  are 
regarded  as  a  brief  expression,  ‘hn  terms  of  present-day 
thought,  of  the  great  Christian  certainties  and  of  the 
Christian  ideal  of  human  life/^ 

Since  this  document  seems  to  the  writer  to  express, 
more  satisfactorily  than  any  formula  he  has  met,  in 
confessional  form  the  content  of  the  gospel  interpreted 
in  the  light  of  the  experience  of  salvation,  he  submits 
both  the  articles  of  faith  and  his  analysis  of  them. 

I 

1.  Concerning  God, — ^We  believe  in  one  Almighty 
God,  Creator  of  all  things.  Father  of  all  men,  only 
Ruler  and  Judge  of  the  world,  holy  and  wise  and  lov¬ 
ing.  We  believe  it  is  His  will  that  men  should  know 
Him;  and  through  the  life,  death,  and  victory  of  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ  we  have  learned  that  God  loves  men, 
seeks  their  good,  bears  all  their  sorrows,  suffers  for 
their  sins,  and  will  triumph  in  His  glorious  purpose 
over  all  evil  at  the  last. 

^The  Quarterly  Register,  Vol.  XII.  No.  5.  Edinburgh,  44  Queen  St. 

296 


A  CREDIBLE  CREED 


297 


2.  Concerning  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ. — ^We  believe 
that  God  so  loved  the  world  that  He  gave  His  Son  to 
be  the  Savior  of  Mankind.  We  believe  that  this  very 
Son  of  God,  for  us  men  and  for  our  salvation,  became 
man  in  Jesus  Christ,  Who,  having  lived  on  earth  the 
perfect  human  life,  devoted  wholly  to  the  will  of  God 
and  the  service  of  man,  died  for  our  sins,  rose  again 
from  the  dead,  and  is  now  exalted  Lord  over  all. 

W"e  believe  that  Jesus  Christ  is  the  Revealer  of  the 
Father,  and  that  the  mind  of  God  towards  the  world 
must  in  all  things  be  interpreted  by  the  mind  of 
Christ.  We  believe  that  when  in  our  experience  we 
are  brought  face  to  face  with  Jesus  Christ  we  are  in 
the  presence  of  the  eternal  and  holy  God. 

Therefore,  with  the  Church  of  all  ages,  we  worship 
Him  together  with  the  Father. 

3.  Concerning  the  Holy  Spirit. — ^We  believe  that 
God  through  His  Spirit  is  ever  present  in  the  lives  of 
men,  seeking  them  for  Himself,  rebuking  their  sinfuL 
ness,  inspiring  every  right  desire,  and  every  effort  after 
truth.  We  believe  that  all  who  seek  God  through 
Jesus  Christ  may  in  the  Spirit  have  communion  with 
Him  by  obedience,  by  prayer,  and  by  the  fellowship 
and  Sacraments  of  the  Church;  and  that  by  the  same 
Spirit  power  is  granted  to  all  who  ask  it,  giving  them 
victory  over  sin,  and  transforming  them  into  the  like¬ 
ness  of  Christ. 

4.  Concerning  the  Holy  Trinity. — Thus  knowing 
God  through  Jesus  Christ  His  Son,  and  through  the 
working  of  His  Spirit  in  our  lives,  we  acknowledge  and 
adore  one  God — Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Spirit. 

5.  Concerning  Providence. — We  believe,  in  face  of 
the  mysteries  of  an  unfinished  world,  that  God  orders 
all  things  for  perfectly  wise  and  loving  ends,  that  He 


298  CHRISTIAN  WAYS  OF  SALVATION 

has  every  human  life  in  His  gracious  and  holy  keeping, 
and  will  never  forsake  the  work  of  His  own  hands. 
Inasmuch  as  He  has  given  to  men  freedom  of  will,  He 
is  not  responsible  for  their  sins  or  for  the  miseries  that 
come  of  these.  Yet  He  is  not  defeated  by  our  evil 
doings,  but  overrules  all  events  for  the  furtherance  of 
His  supreme  designs  of  good. 

6.  Concerning  the  Kingdom  of  God. — ^We  believe 
that  the  unchangeable  purpose  of  God  is  the  establish¬ 
ing  and  perfecting  of  His  Kingdom — a  society  ruled  in 
all  its  parts  by  love  and  righteousness,  a  society  of 
which  Christ  is  King,  and  to  which  all  belong  who  are 
themselves  animated  by  His  Spirit. 

We  believe  that  the  Kingdom  of  God  is  already 
among  us,  and  that  the  appointed  task  of  all  good  men 
is  to  advance  it,  and  to  bring  every  relation  of  human 
life  under  the  dominion  of  Christ.  We  believe  that 
Christ  is  the  true  and  only  Lord  of  all  mankind,  and 
that  those  who  confess  Him  are  bound  to  make  Him 
known  till  all  the  world  acknowledge  Him  as  Lord 
and  King. 

We  believe  that  the  Kingdom  of  God  will  finally 
dominate  the  life  of  man,  and  that  in  the  world  to 
come  God  will  complete  and  perfect  it,  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ  being  manifested  in  power  and  great 
glory. 

7.  Concerning  the  Church. — ^W©  believe  that,  as 
Jesus  Christ  gathered  and  still  gathers  round  Him 
a  fellowship  of  faith  and  love,  it  is  His  will  that  those 
who  through  Him  believe  in  God  should  unite  in  a 
visible  Church.  We  believe  it  to  be  His  purpose  that, 
through  their  common  life  of  worship  and  service,  they 
may  learn  to  be  like  Him  in  faith,  hope,  and  love, 
further  the  ends  of  His  Kingdom,  proclaim  His  Gospel 


A  CREDIBLE  CREED 


299 


to  all  mankind,  and  be  His  fellow-workers  in  com¬ 
bating  ignorance,  pride,  and  covetousness,  vice  and 
disease,  and  every  social  injustice  and  public  wrong. 

We  believe  that  the  Catholic  or  Universal  Church 
is  the  whole  company  of  the  redeemed,  and  we  recog¬ 
nize  as  belonging  to  this  fellowship  all  who  are  united 
to  God  through  faith  in  Christ. 

Of  the  visible  Church,  and  every  branch  thereof, 
the  only  Head  is  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ;  and  in  its 
faith,  order,  discipline,  and  duty,  it  must  be  free  to 
obey  His  holy  will. 

We  receive,  as  Divine  gifts  to  the  Church,  the  Holy 
Scriptures  and  the  Sacraments  of  the  New  Testament. 
We  believe  that  through  these  Sacraments — Baptism 
and  the  Lord’s  Supper — received  with  faith,  there  are 
conveyed  to  men  the  blessings  of  salvation. 

8.  Concerning  the  Holy  Scriptures. — ^We  believe 
that  God  has  revealed  Himself  in  nature,  conscience, 
and  history,  so  that  never  in  any  nation  has  He  left 
Himself  without  witness.  Yet  the  Scriptures  of  the 
Old  and  New  Testaments  record  a  clear  and  ever¬ 
growing  revelation  of  God  as  faithfully  and  unchange¬ 
ably  Redeemer,  which  is  made  complete  in  Christ; 
they  therefore  contain,  in  a  supreme  sense,  the  Word 
of  God,  and  are  needful  for  the  full  understanding  of 
His  purpose,  for  reconciliation  with  Him,  and  for  life 
according  to  His  will.  Of  this  we  are  convinced  by 
the  witness  of  the  Holy  Spirit  in  the  hearts  of  men  to 
and  with  the  Word;  and  the  Spirit  of  God,  thus  speak¬ 
ing  from  the  Scriptures  to  believers  and  to  the  Church, 
is  the  supreme  authority  by  which  all  opinions  in 
religion  are  finally  to  be  judged. 

9.  Concerning  Sin. — We  believe  that  the  sin  of  man 
was  no  part  of  the  purpose  of  God;  yet  that  all  men 


300 


CHRISTIAN  WAYS  OF  SALVATION 


are  sinful,  and  that  each  of  us  has  been  guilty  of  willful 
and  repeated  sin.  We  acknowledge  that  sin  separates 
men  from  God,  and  brings  them  under  His  condemna¬ 
tion  and  punishment;  and  that  without  His  forgive¬ 
ness  and  His  patient  and  mighty  help  no  man  can 
deliver  himself  from  either  the  guilt  or  the  power  of 
his  sin. 

10.  Concerning  the  Saving  Love  of  God. — ^We  be¬ 
lieve  that  from  the  beginning  God  has  been  patiently 
seeking  the  redemption  of  His  children,  and  that 
through  prophet  and  psalmist  He  made  it  clear  that 
there  is  forgiveness  with  Him.  But  we  believe  that 
His  eternal  purpose  to  redeem  has  been  fully  made 
known  in  Jesus  Christ,  in  whom  God  himself  came 
among  men  to  seek  and  to  save  that  which  was  lost, 
and  that  in  the  death  of  the  Cross  He  has  shown  us  the 
malignity  of  sin  and  His  antagonism  thereto,  but, 
above  all.  His  love  in  putting  away  sin  by  the  sacrifice 
of  Himself. 

Therefore,  with  thankful  devotion,  we  find  in  the 
Cross  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  the  assurance  of  God’s 
forgiving  grace,  and  learn  that  His  holy  love  can  only 
be  satisfied  with  a  holy  life  in  those  whom  He  forgives. 

We  believe  that  we  are  received  into  sonship  and 
peace  with  God,  not  because  of  any  good  works  or 
holiness  on  our  part,  as  though  we  could  deserve  so 
great  salvation,  but  only  and  altogether  because  of 
His  infinite  mercy,  freely  granted  to  all  who  repent 
and  turn  from  their  sins,  and  accept  Jesus  Christ  as 
their  Savior  and  Lord. 

11.  Concerning  Christian  Sonship. — ^We  believe  that 
all  who  receive  the  Gospel  are  called  and  enabled  to 
live  in  fellowship  with  God  as  His  children,  to  keep 
His  commandments,  to  grow  in  knowledge  of  His  love, 


A  CREDIBLE  CREED 


301 


and  to  trust  His  fatherly  care  in  every  trial  and  per¬ 
plexity,  thereby  in  their  whole  life  showing  them¬ 
selves  thankful  to  God  for  all  His  gifts. 

12.  Concerning  the  Life  to  Come. — ^We  believe  that 
after  death  the  soul  continues  to  live,  in  the  just  and 
merciful  keeping  of  Almighty  God,  Who  will  give  to 
it  a  body  as  it  pleases  Him. 

We  believe  that  He,  Who  alone  can  read  the  heart, 
will  judge  the  world  in  righteousness  by  Jesus  Christ, 
and  that  wickedness  will  not  go  unpunished.  We  be¬ 
lieve  that  those  who  accept  the  mercy  of  God  will 
in  His  fellowship  go  on  towards  perfect  holiness  and 
blessedness.  And,  with  glad  and  solemn  hearts,  we 
look  for  the  consummation  and  bliss  of  the  life  ever¬ 
lasting,  wherein  the  people  of  God,  freed  for  ever 
from  sin  and  sorrow,  shall  serve  Him  in  the  perfected 
communion  of  saints. 


II 

This  statement  comes,  as  it  ought  to  come,  from 
the  mind  and  heart  of  a  branch  of  the  Christian 
Church,  a  body  notable  for  its  loyalty  to  Christ  and 
the  Scriptures,  its  adherence  to  the  confessional 
standards  of  the  Westminster  Assembly  (1647),  its 
cultivation  of  the  highest  type  of  scholarship,  and  its 
wealth  of  works  of  faith  and  labors  of  love  whose 
beneficent  influence  has  been  felt  in  many  lands.  To 
our  knowledge,  the  United  Free  Church  of  Scotland 
has  never  been  inclined  to  radicalism,  whether  of  the 
rationalistic  or  the  mystic  type,  but  has  always  been 
soundly  evangelical  and  still  professes  to  be  so.  Ac¬ 
cordingly,  when  its  General  Assembly  commends  a 
statement  of  the  faith  “to  the  interest  and  study  of 


302 


CHRISTIAN  WAYS  OF  SALVATION 


the  members  of  the  Church/'  members  of  all  Churches 
will  take  heed,  and  will  pay  respectful  attention  to 
the  document. 

It  is  to  be  clearly  understood  that  the  Confession 
has  not  been  formally  adopted,  and  that  it  is  to  be 
regarded  neither  as  a  substitute  for  an  old  confession 
nor  as  the  beginning  of  a  new  one.  It  is  simply 
^^commended”  for  consideration  and  ‘^study.”  In  the 
concluding  paragraph,  the  mood  from  which  it  comes, 
and  in  which  the  General  Assembly  commends  it,  is 
admirably  defined.  “These  things,"  it  is  said,  “as  all 
else  in  our  Christian  faith,  we  hold  in  reverent  sub¬ 
mission  to  the  guidance  and  teaching  of  the  Holy 
Spirit  Who  is  truth,  and  we  shall  ever  seek  of  Him 
enlightenment  and  grace  both  to  unlearn  our  errors 
and  also  more  fully  to  learn  the  mind  and  will  of  God, 
to  Whom  be  glory  for  ever  and  ever." 

One  feels  in  these  words  the  spirit  of  caution  and  of 
courage, — caution  not  to  follow  unreservedly  the  direc¬ 
tions  of  mere  reason  or  to  surrender  unconditionally 
to  the  results  of  science;  courage  to  be  true  to  truth, 
from  whatever  source  it  may  come.  It  is  conceded, 
also,  by  implication,  that  the  Church  has  not  yet 
reached  finality  in  its  confessional  statements;  that 
there  are  “errors"  to  be  unlearned,  and  that  we  are 
“to  learn  the  mind  and  will  of  God"  more  completely. 
All  this  is  to  be  accomplished,  not  indeed  without 
human  effort,  always  under  “the  guidance  and  teach¬ 
ing  of  the  Holy  Spirit." 

The  fact  that  such  a  statement  has  been  presented 
and  commended  by  an  authorized  ecclesiastical 
assembly  shows  that  there  is  a  deeply  felt  need  for  it. 
Too  long  perhaps  has  the  Church  remained  silent,  or 
ignored  with  stolid  indifference  the  necessity  of  a 


A  CREDIBLE  CREED 


303 


statement  of  the  ^^great  Christian  certainties  and  of 
the  Christian  ideal  of  human  life’’  in  terms  of  con¬ 
temporary  thought.  True,  such  statements  have  been 
made  by  individuals  or  by  schools,  but  usually  at  their 
peril  and  not  infrequently  with  much  disapproval. 
Now,  for  once,  a  General  Assembly  takes  courage  to 
commend  a  statement  of  the  Church’s  faith,  at  least 
^^to  the  interest  and  study  of  the  members  of  the 
Church.”  However  circumspectly  the  commendation 
is  made,  it  none  the  less  marks  a  step  in  advance,  and 
indicates  a  readiness  to  face  the  doctrinal  issues  of  the 
times  that  has  rarely,  if  at  all,  been  shown  by  the 
supreme  judicatory  of  an  evangelical  church  of  this 
generation.  The  time,  we  trust,  is  rapidly  passing 
when  the  Churches  will  permit  men  and  groups  who 
have  no  experimental  knowledge  of  the  gospel,  and 
who  have  no  sympathy  with  the  best  Christian  tradi¬ 
tions  of  the  centuries,  to  tell  the  world  what  the 
Christian  faith  is  and  what  the  Christian  Church 
ought  to  be.  Scientists,  philosophers,  spiritualists, 
socialists,  non-churchmen  of  the  better  and  the  baser 
sort,  have  been  quick  to  define  Christianity,  to  make 
light  of  the  Churches,  and  to  offer  more  palatable 
substitutes  for  the  gospel  of  Jesus  Christ.  Progress, 
safe  and  sane,  after  the  analogy  of  the  seed,  the  ear, 
and  the  full  corn  in  the  ear,  can  be  made  only  when 
the  Church  herself  will  be  true  to  her  perennial  mission 
and  set  forth  in  terms  of  modern  thought  the  larger 
revelations  of  the  Spirit  of  Truth, — the  great  Christian 
certainties,  becoming  ever  more  certain, — in  relation 
to  the  undeniable  results  of  modern  science  and  the 
new  issues  of  modern  life.  Pagan  intrusions  and 
Jewish  remnants  must  be  eliminated,  neglected  truths 
restored,  and  new  truths  incorporated;  and  all  truths 


304 


CHRISTIAN  WAYS  OF  SALVATION 


must  be  related  to  one  another.  In  this  way  only 
can  we  steer  clear  of  the  Scylla  of  reaction  and  the 
Charybdis  of  radicalism;  and  move  forward,  loyal  to 
the  past,  open-minded  to  the  present,  true  to  the 
future. 

Let  us  examine  the  form  and  content  of  the  new 
statement.  For  both  its  brevity  and  its  comprehen¬ 
siveness  it  will  make  a  favorable  appeal  to  the  modern 
man.  It  is  much  longer  than  the  Apostles’  Creed,  and 
much  shorter  than  any  of  the  three  Westminster 
Standards.  The  Westminster  Confession  has  thirty- 
three  chapters  and,  with  footnotes,  covers  128  octavo 
pages.  The  Larger  Catechism  has  196  questions  and 
answers,  and  the  Shorter  Catechism  107,  many  of 
which  are  longer  than  the  longest  article  in  the  new 
confession. 

Like  the  Apostles’  Creed,  it  is  composed  of  twelve 
articles.  The  first  six  have  to  do  with  God, — His  nature 
and  disposition.  His  Son,  His  Spirit,  His  triune  Being, 
His  Providence,  His  Kingdom;  the  last  six,  with  the 
ways  and  means  by  which  God’s  redemptive  purpose 
is  realized, — the  Church,  the  Scriptures,  Sin  and  For¬ 
giveness,  Redemption,  Christian  Sonship,  Eternal  Life. 
These  topics  represent  the  great  Christian  certainties 
and  the  Christian  ideal  of  life,  and  are  presumably 
set  forth  “in  terms  of  present-day  thought.” 

Each  article  begins  with  a  credimus  (we  believe). 
In  the  Fourth  Article,  however.  Concerning  The  Holy 
Trinity,  substantially  the  same  idea  is  affirmed  in  the 
words,  “we  acknowledge  and  adore  one  God — Father, 
Son,  and  Holy  Spirit.”  The  underlying  assumption 
clearly  is,  that  the  content  of  faith  comes  from  God 
through  Christ  by  the  mediation  of  his  Spirit  and 
word  into  the  consciousness  of  the  Church  or  the  com- 


A  CREDIBLE  CREED 


305 


munity  of  believers.  Not  the  individual  alone,  but  the 
believers  as  a  group  or  body  possess  the  substance  of 
the  faith,  as  is  implied  by  the  words  ^Ve  believe.’’  A 
confession  is  a  revelation  on  the  one  hand,  and  an 
affirmation  of  faith  on  the  other.  Nothing  that  must 
be  proved  by  logical  process,  historical  investigation, 
miraculous  signs,  or  dictatorial  pronouncements,  ought 
to  be  made  an  essential  part  of  a  creed.  For  only  that 
belongs  to  a  creed  that  is  credible  or  believable,  that 
will  approve  itself  in  the  believer  by  a  life  of  faith 
working  in  love  with  the  patience  of  hope.  In  the 
words  of  the  Eighth  Article : 

Of  this  we  are  convinced  by  the  witness  of  the  Holy 
Spirit  in  the  hearts  of  men  to  and  with  the  Word;  and  the 
Spirit  of  God,  thus  speaking  from  the  Scriptures  to  be¬ 
lievers  and  to  the  Church,  is  the  supreme  authority  by 
which  all  opinions  in  religion  are  finally  to  be  judged. 

Our  Christian  assurance,  therefore,  is  based  upon 
revelation  and  faith,  not  upon  the  conclusions  of 
reason,  mystic  visions,  ecclesiastical  decrees,  and  scien¬ 
tific  discoveries.  These  have  their  place  in  the  life 
of  man  and  the  progress  of  the  race,  but  the  great 
verities  of  the  gospel  must  forever  be  comprehended 
by  the  life  of  faith.  In  the  understanding  of  religious 
truth  the  ^Vise  and  prudent”  are  subject  to  the  same 
conditions  as  ‘Tabes.”  Revelation  is  an  act  of  God, 
a  deliberate  approach  to  man,  and  is  consummated  in 
and  through  Christ.  It  is  therefore  continuous,  as 
long  as  God  saves  men  and  men  seek  God. 

Article  I.  says: 

We  believe  it  is  His  will  that  men  should  know  Him;  and 
through  the  life,  death  and  victory  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ 
we  have  learned  that  God  loves  men,  seeks  their  good. 


306  CHRISTIAN  WAYS  OF  SALVATION 

bears  all  their  sorrows,  suffers  for  their_  sins,  and  will 
triumph  in  His  glorious  purpose  over  all  evil  at  the  last. 

The  distinctive  character  of  this  tentative  statement 
of  the  Faith  will  appear  when  we  compare  it  with  one 
of  the  older  orthodox  symbols,  like  the  Westminster 
Confession;  and  with  one  of  the  recent  utterances  of 
liberalism,  like  the  address  of  Charles  W.  Eliot  on 
‘The  Religion  of  the  Future.’’  The  comparison  will 
show  that  the  Statement  is  substantially  orthodox, 
without  the  metaphysical  dogmatism  of  the  former; 
and  yet  soundly  liberal  in  tendency,  without  the 
rationalism  of  the  latter.  In  other  words,  it  is  progres¬ 
sively  evangelical,  fully  as  much  in  harmony  with  the 
Scriptures  as  are  the  ancient  creeds  and  the  Protestant 
confessions,  and  far  more  satisfactory  to  the  Christian 
consciousness  of  to-day  than  many  of  the  articles  in 
the  traditional  dogmas.  In  relation  to  the  West¬ 
minster  Confession,  the  Statement  arrests  attention  by 
its  silences;  in  relation  to  Eliot’s  “The  Religion  of  the 
Future,”  by  its  positive  affirmations. 

The  four  articles  on  God  affirm  those  attributes 
which  one  must  accept,  in  order  to  have  confidence  in 
the  saving  and  sanctifying  work  of  God;  and  which 
only  those  who  experience  his  salvation  can  discern 
and  understand.  They  include  the  experimental  truths 
of  the  trinitarian  doctrine,  the  things  about  God  that 
are  historically  revealed  through  Christ  and  can  be 
known  by  every  believer  with  the  certainty  that  faith 
alone  gives.  God  is  declared  to  be  one.  Almighty, 
Creator  of  all  things.  Father  of  all  men,  only  Ruler  and 
Judge  of  the  world,  holy  and  wise  and  loving.  These 
qualities  in  God  receive  their  true  significance  when 
viewed  in  relation  to  his  redemptive  purpose  as  mani- 


307 


A  CREDIBLE  CREED 

fested  in  Jesus  Christ;  for  we  are  told,  that  ^hhrough 
the  life,  death,  and  victory  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ 
we  have  learned  that  God  loves  men,  seeks  their  good, 
bears  all  their  sorrows,  suffers  for  their  sins,  and  will 
triumph  in  His  glorious  purpose  over  all  evil  at  the 
last.’^  Thus,  God  is  interpreted  through  Christ,  not 
through  the  processes  of  the  cosmic  order  or  through 
the  speculations  of  the  philosophic  mind;  in  other 
words,  these  articles  give  a  truly  christological  and 
soteriological  explanation  of  the  Deity. 

One  will  have  to  go  a  long  way  to  find  a  sublimer 
definition  of  God  than  is  made  in  the  Second  Chapter 
of  the  Westminster  Confession.  It  is  far  more  com¬ 
prehensive  and  detailed  than  the  First  Article  of  the 
new  Statement.  In  the  Second  Section,  we  read: 

God  hath  all  life,  glory,  goodness,  blessedness,  in  and  of 
himself;  and  is  alone  in  and  unto  himself  all-sufficient,  not 
standing  in  need  of  any  creatures  which  he  hath  made,  nor 
deriving  any  glory  from  them,  but  only  manifesting  his 
own  glory  in,  by,  unto,  and  upon  them:  he  is  the  alone 
fountain  of  all  being,  of  whom,  through  whom,  and  to 
whom,  are  all  things;  and  hath  most  sovereign  dominion 
over  them,  to  do  by  them,  for  them,  and  upon  them,  what¬ 
soever  himself  pleaseth.  In  his  sight  all  things  are  open 
and  manifest;  his  knowledge  is  infinite,  infallible,  and  in¬ 
dependent  upon  the  creature,  so  as  nothing  is  to  him  con¬ 
tingent  or  uncertain.  He  is  most  holy  in  all  his  counsels, 
in  all  his  works,  and  in  all  his  commands.  To  him  is  due 
from  angels  and  men,  and  every  other  creature,  whatsoever 
worship,  service,  or  obedience  he  is  pleased  to  require  of 
them. 

These  characteristics  of  God  are  assumed  to  be 
taken  from  the  Bible.  The  Westminster  Confession  is, 
therefore,  Biblio-centric,  in  distinction  from  the 
Statement,  which  is  Christo-centric.  In  this  respect, 


308 


CHRISTIAN  WAYS  OF  SALVATION 


of  course,  the  two  confessions  rest  upon  wholly  differ¬ 
ent  premises,  and  yet  they  do  not  necessarily  contra¬ 
dict  each  other.  The  older  simply  goes  far  beyond  the 
reach  of  the  later  document  in  its  affirmations  about 
God.  All  that  is  said  in  the  former  may  be  true;  but 
one  cannot  escape  the  feeling  that  the  Westminster 
Fathers  in  their  definition  of  God  were  describing  God, 
not  merely  as  revealed  in  Christ  and  as  made  known 
by  him  to  'Tabes,’’  but  as  interpreted  by  the  Nicene 
philosophers  and  by  John  Calvin,  with  primary  con¬ 
cern  for  the  essence  of  his  being,  his  sovereignty, 
and  his  glory.  Theirs  is  a  definition  of  God  that 
exceeds  the  Christian  revelation  and  the  experience  of 
Christian  salvation,  and  from  some  points  of  which 
devout  Christians  have  always  differed  and  may  always 
differ.  It  is  rather  philosophical  than  christological; 
and,  therefore,  it  belongs  not  to  a  confession  of  faith,— 
which  clearly  ought  to  contain  only  what  the  believer 
can  experience, — but  to  a  system  of  theology,  where 
Christians  ought  to  be  allowed  freedom  for  speculation 
and  room  for  differences  of  opinion. 

Mr.  Charles  W.  Eliot,  in  "The  Religion  of  the 
Future,”  sets  forth  the  idea  of  God  from  the  liberal 
scientific  point  of  view. 

The  new  thought  of  God  [he  says]  will  be  its  [religion’s] 
most  characteristic  element.  This  ideal  will  comprehend 
the  Jewish  Jehovah,  the  Christian  Universal  Father,  the 
modern  physicist’s  omnipresent  and  exhaustless  Energy, 
and  the  biological  conception  of  Vital  Force.  .  .  .  The  new 
religion  is  therefore  thoroughly  monotheistic,  its  God  being 
the  one  infinite  force;  but  this  one  God  is  not  withdrawn 
or  removed,  but  indwelling,  and  especially  dwelling  in 
every  living  creature.  God  is  so  absolutely  immanent  in 
all  things,  animate  and  inanimate,  that  no  mediation  is 
needed  between  him  and  the  least  particle  of  his  creation. 


A  CREDIBLE  CREED 


309 


In  his  moral  attributes,  he  is  for  every  man  the  multiplica¬ 
tion  to  infinity  of  all  the  noblest,  tenderest,  and  most  potent 
qualities  which  that  man  has  ever  seen  or  imagined  in  a 
human  being.  In  this  sense  every  man  makes  his  own 
picture  of  God. 

Mr.  Eliot  does  not  profess  to  define  God  through  the 
Bible,  through  Christ,  or  through  the  Christian  con¬ 
sciousness;  but  through  the  human  reason,  based  upon 
human  experience  in  all  ages,  and  upon  the  results  of 
scientific  investigation.  He  speaks  ^^of  the  scientific 
doctrine  of  one  omnipresent,  eternal  energy,  informing 
and  inspiring  the  whole  creation  at  every  instant  of 
time  and  throughout  the  infinite  spaces.”  Such  is  the 
view  of  God  of  a  scientist  who  has  religious  inclina¬ 
tions,  and  in  his  view  he  is  doubtless  as  nearly  right 
as  the  theologian  with  philosophic  propensities.  What 
the  scientist  and  the  philosopher  say  about  God  may 
be  all  true,  and  doubtless  must  be  recognized  and 
weighed  by  the  Christian  theologian;  but  neither  the 
philosophical  theologian  nor  the  theological  scientist 
is  in  a  position  to  prepare  a  confession  of  faith  of 
which  each  article  begins  with  a  credimus  (we  believe). 
We  may  speculate  about  Mr.  Eliot’s  God,  schools  may 
discuss  him;  but  when  men  seek  a  God  who  saves, 
who  comforts,  who  is  merciful,  who  inspires  hope, 
they  will  find  full  satisfaction  only  in  a  God  who  is 
like  Jesus  and  in  a  Savior  who  is  like  God. 

The  Statement  of  Faith  before  us  differs  from  the 
definition  of  God  in  the  older  confessions  and  in  the 
modern  philosophies.  It  sets  forth  a  God  who  is 
neither  a  blend  of  the  Jewish  Jehovah,  the  Christian 
Universal  Father,  the  modern  physicist’s  omnipresent 
and  exhaustless  energy,  and  the  biological  conception 
of  vital  force;  nor  a  compound  of  Jewish  prophecy^ 


310 


CHRISTIAN  WAYS  OF  SALVATION 


Christian  revelation,  Greek  philosophy,  oriental  mys¬ 
teries,  and  Roman  law,  such  as  has  become  a  part 
of  the  dogmatic  tradition  of  the  Church.  It  rests 
content  with  God  as  manifested  in  Jesus,  through 
whose  “life,  death,  and  victory  ...  we  have  learned 
that  God  loves  men,  seeks  their  good,  bears  all  their 
sorrows,  suffers  for  their  sins,  and  will  triumph  in  his 
glorious  purpose  over  all  evil  at  the  last.^’  Many 
questions  may,  and  must  be,  raised  by  theologians  and 
philosophers,  but  neither  the  problems  nor  the  solu¬ 
tions  belong  to  a  confession  of  faith. 

In  Article  II. — Concerning  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ, — 
there  is  a  clear  affirmation  of  faith  in  his  divine  mis¬ 
sion,  Sonship,  and  Saviorhood,  in  the  reality  of  his 
manhood  and  his  life  on  earth,  the  perfection  of  his 
character  in  devoting  himself  wholly  to  the  will  of 
God  and  the  service  of  man,  in  his  death  “for  our 
sins,”  in  his  resurrection  from  the  dead,  and  in  His 
exaltation  as  “Lord  over  all.”  Each  of  these  facts  or 
acts  is  based  on  God’s  redemptive  love  for  the  world. 

Jesus  Christ  is  Son  and  Savior,  and  he  becomes  “the 
Revealer  of  the  Father”  in  such  a  way  that  God’s 
“mind  toward  the  world  must  in  all  things  be  inter¬ 
preted  by  the  mind  of  Christ”;  yea  more,  “when  in 
our  experience  we  are  brought  face  to  face  with  Jesus 
Christ,  we  are  in  the  presence  of  the  eternal  and  holy 
God.” 

These  statements  contain  the  substance  of  the 
Nicene  and  the  Chalcedonian  creeds  and  of  the 
Protestant  confessions,  without  the  metaphysical 
premises  or  definitions  that  sound  so  strange  to  the 
modern  man.  Those  premises  are  neither  denied  nor 
afl&rmed:  they  are  simply  omitted, — omitted  doubtless 
because  in  a  confession  one  should  have  only  the  facts 


A  CREDIBLE  CREED 


311 


and  works  of  Christ  that  enter  into  the  experience 
of  salvation;  not  the  theories  of  his  person  and  work, 
which  belong  to  dogmatic  theology  alone.  Only  those 
characteristics  of  Jesus  Christ  are  defined  which  man 
needs  in  a  Savior,  experiences  in  being  saved,  and 
which  are  common  to  that  experience  in  all  the 
churches. 

What  we  mean  by  the  metaphysical  premises  and 
definitions  relating  to  the  person  and  work  of  Christ 
becomes  evident  when  we  turn  to  Chapter  VIII. — Of 
Christ,  the  Mediator,  in  the  Westminster  Confession. 
Sections  II.  and  III.  in  particular.  There  we  are  told 
that 

the  Son  of  God,  the  second  person  in  the  Trinity,  being  very 
and  eternal  God,  of  one  substance,  and  equal  with  the 
Father,  did,  when  the  fulness  of  time  was  come,  take  upon 
him  man’s  nature,  with  all  the  essential  properties  and 
common  infirmities  thereof,  yet  without  sin ;  being  conceived 
by  the  power  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  in  the  womb  of  the  Virgin 
Mary,  of  her  substance.  So  that  two  whole,  perfect,  and 
distinct  natures,  the  Godhead  and  the  manhood,  were  in¬ 
separably  joined  together  in  one  person,  without  conversion, 
composition,  or  confusion.  Which  person  is  very  God  and 
very  man,  yet  one  Christ,  the  only  Mediator  between  God 
and  man. 

This,  of  course,  will  be  recognized  as  largely  a  con¬ 
densation  of  the  Nicene  and  the  Chalcedonian  creeds. 
It  is,  also,  an  interpretation  of  the  person  of  Christ 
in  philosophic  terms,  many  of  which  were  foreign  to 
the  writers  of  the  New  Testament. 

One  will  at  once  observe  the  omission  in  the  new 
Creed  of  terms  that  are  prominent  in  the  old;  as,  for 
example,  “the  second  person  in  the  Trinity,’^  “of  one 
substance  and  equal  with  the  Father’^;  “being  con¬ 
ceived  by  the  power  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  in  the  womb 


i 


312  CHRISTIAN  WAYS  OF  SALVATION 

of  the  Virgin  Mary,  of  her  substance’';  ‘Two  whole, 
perfect,  and  distinct  natures  .  .  .  were  inseparably 
joined  together  in  one  person,  without  conversion, 
composition,  or  confusion.”  Silence  or  omission,  how¬ 
ever,  does  not  imply  denial.  But  the  new  Creed  holds 
itself  to  historical,  religious,  and  experimental  truth, — 
which  is  spiritually  discerned.  Indeed,  it  affirms,  with¬ 
out  room  for  doubt,  the  qualities  of  Christ  which  the 
metaphysical  statements  of  the  earlier  creeds  were 
supposed  to  substantiate, — the  reality  of  his  Godhead 
and  his  manhood:  “We  believe  that  this  very  Son  of 
God,  for  us  men  and  for  our  salvation,  became  man 
in  Jesus  Christ.”  So  much  belongs  to  a  creed:  more 
than  that  belongs  to  the  theologian  and  the  meta¬ 
physician. 

While  the  Statement  omits  much — but  nothing 
essential — that  is  in  the  earlier  creeds  and  confessions, 
it  affirms  far  more  than  a  Unitarian  like  Mr.  Eliot 
admits  into  his  “The  Religion  of  the  Future.”  He 
says:  “There  will  be  in  the  religion  of  the  future  .  .  . 
no  identification  of  any  human  being,  however 
majestic  in  character,  with  the  Eternal  Deity.”  At 
another  place  he  adds:  “God  is  so  absolutely  im¬ 
manent  in  all  things,  animate  and  inanimate,  that  no 
mediation  is  needed  between  him  and  the  least  particle 
of  his  creation.  In  his  moral  attributes,  he  is  for  every 
man  the  multiplication  to  infinity  of  all  the  noblest, 
tenderest,  and  most  potent  qualities  which  that  man 
has  ever  seen  or  imagined  in  a  human  being.  In  this 
sense  every  man  makes  his  own  picture  of  God.”  There 
is,  doubtless,  an  element  of  truth  in  this  view  of  the 
divine  presence  and  attributes ;  but  the  new  Creed  goes 
much  further,  and  would  by  no  means  be  content 
with  President  Eliot’s  position.  As  far  as  the  identifi- 


A  CREDIBLE  CREED 


313 


cation  of  a  human  being  with  the  Deity  is  concerned, 
that  is  clearly  recognized  in  the  declarations,  ^'God 
so  loved  the  world  that  He  gave  His  Son  to  be  the 
Savior  of  mankind,’^  and,  ‘‘we  worship  Him  together 
with  the  Father.”  As  to  the  way  of  knowing  God, — 
man  does  not  merely  make  his  own  picture  of  him, 
nor  does  he  “discover  God  through  self-consciousness” ; 
but  we  are  very  emphatically  told  that  “Jesus  Christ 
is  the  Revealer  of  the  Father,  and  that  the  mind  of 
God  towards  the  world  must  in  all  things  be  inter¬ 
preted  by  the  mind  of  Christ.  We  believe,  when  in  our 
experience  we  are  brought  face  to  face  with  Jesus 
Christ,  that  we  are  in  the  presence  of  the  eternal  and 
holy  God.”  Statements  like  these  will  protect  the  new 
Creed  against  charges  of  rationalism  on  the  one  hand, 
and  of  traditionalism  on  the  other;  but  will  justify 
the  claim  that  it  is  liberally  evangelical. 

In  the  new  Confession  nothing  is  said  in  the  ab¬ 
stract  about  the  essential  relation  of  the  Holy  Spirit 
to  the  Godhead,  his  procession  from  the  Father  or  the 
Son,  the  nature  of  his  person  or  substance.  One 
seeks  in  vain  for  terms  found  in  Chapter  II.  Section 
III.  of  the  Westminster  Confession: 

In  the  Unity  of  the  Godhead  there  be  three  persons  of 
one  substance,  power,  and  eternity;  God  the  Father,  God 
the  Son,  and  God  the  Holy  Ghost.  The  Father  is  of  none, 
neither  begotten  nor  proceeding;  the  Son  is  eternally  be¬ 
gotten  of  the  Father;  the  Holy  Spirit  eternally  proceeding 
from  the  Father  and  the  Son. 

The  words  and  phrases  of  this  section  are  taken 
from  metaphysics,  not  from  the  records  of  revelation 
and  religious  experience.  Although  they  are  omitted 
from  the  new  Confession,  it  none  the  less  emphasizes 


314  CHRISTIAN  WAYS  OF  SALVATION 

the  reality  of  the  Spirit  of  God,  the  presence  of  his 
Spirit  the  lives  of  men,  seeking  them  for  Himself, 
rebuking  their  sinfulness,  inspiring  every  right  desire, 
and  every  effort  after  truth/’  Attention  is  directed 
wholly  to  what  the  Spirit  does,  and  not  primarily  to 
what  the  Spirit  is.  The  way  of  access  to  God  is  said 
to  be  through  Jesus  Christ  ‘Hn  the  Spirit.”  Through 
him  men  may  enter  into  communion  with  God, — not 
by  magic,  mystical  or  sacramental,  but  ^‘by  obedience, 
by  prayer,  and  by  the  fellowship  and  Sacraments  of 
the  Church.”  Ethical  living,  with  the  practice  of 
prayer  and  the  observance  of  the  Sacraments,  is  the 
condition  for  fellowship  with  God  in  the  Spirit.  By 
the  same  Spirit  ^^power  is  granted  to  all  who  ask  it, 
giving  them  victory  over  sins  and  transforming  them 
into  the  likeness  of  Christ.”  Thus  the  whole  of  the 
Christian  life  is  lived  in  the  Spirit, — a  fact  which  is 
proved  by  the  New  Testament  and  by  Christian  ex¬ 
perience  in  all  ages.  On  the  basis  of  this  experience, 
faith  in  the  Holy  Trinity  is  declared  as  follows:  ^^Thus 
knowing  God  through  Jesus  Christ  His  Son,  and 
through  the  working  of  His  Spirit  in  our  lives,  we 
acknowledge  and  adore  one  God — Father,  Son,  and 
Holy  Spirit.”  The  Trinity,  therefore,  is  assumed  to 
be  a  personal  experience  of  God,  through  Christ,  and 
of  the  working  of  his  Spirit  in  our  lives ;  then  only  can 
men  define  it  in  a  doctrine.  The  experience  is  perma¬ 
nent;  the  absence  of  it  would  indicate  dearth,  or 
indeed  the  death,  of  Christianity:  but  the  doctrinal 
definition  of  it  may  vary  from  age  to  age. 

The  rationalist,  in  his  protest  against  a  one-sided 
and  magical  supernaturalism,  reduces  the  Spirit  of 
God  to  the  cosmic  spirit;  which  of  course  may  be 
divine,  pervading  the  universe  and  the  mind  of  man. 


A  CREDIBLE  CREED 


315 


He  fails,  however,  to  recognize  the  distinctive  quality, 
mode  of  operation,  and  effects,  of  the  redemptive  and 
sanctifying  work  of  the  Spirit  of  God  working  through 
Christ  in  men, — the  Spirit  that  ^hs  ever  present  in  the 
lives  of  men,  seeking  men  for  Himself,  rebuking  their 
sinfulness,  inspiring  every  right  desire  and  every  effort 
after  truth,’’  enabling  men  to  enter  into  communion 
with  God,  and  granting  them  power  to  overcome  sin 
and  to  become  Christlike. 

Mr.  Emerson,  in  his  Divinity  School  Address,  1838, 
says: 

In  the  soul  then  let  redemption  be  sought. 

Professor  Emerton,  in  speaking  of  salvation,  says: 

It  is  the  redemption  of  man’s  lower  self  by  the  domina¬ 
tion  of  his  higher  self.  It  is  the  spiritual  redeeming  the 
material,  the  divine  that  is  in  every  man  redeeming  the 
animal. 

President  Eliot  says: 

In  the  future  religion  there  will  be  nothing  “supernatural.” 
This  does  not  mean  that  life  will  be  stripped  of  mystery  or 
wonder,  or  that  the  range  of  natural  law  has  been  finally 
determined;  but  that  religion,  like  all  else,  must  conform 
to  natural  law  so  far  as  the  range  of  law  has  been  de¬ 
termined.  In  this  sense  the  religion  of  the  future  will  be 
a  natural  religion.  In  all  its  theory  and  all  its  practice  it 
will  be  completely  natural. 

There  is  force  in  this  protest  against  a  supernatural- 
ism  which  was  blind  to  the  reign  of  law,  and  resolved 
providence  and  salvation  into  a  succession  of  miracles. 
The  protest,  however,  goes  too  far,  much  farther  than 
the  new  Confession.  The  only  admitted  alternative 


316 


CHRISTIAN  WAYS  OF  SALVATION 


to  supernaturalism  of  the  theological  kind  is  natural¬ 
ism  of  the  scientific  kind.  Yet  we  believe  that  there 
is  in  supernaturalism  a  truth  not  conserved  in  mere 
naturalism.  There  is  a  way  of  fellowship  with  God 
through  Christ  in  the  Spirit,  a  power  of  salvation, 
that  is  more  than  natural,  more  than  Eliotts  “com¬ 
munion  with  the  great  Spirit,  with  the  spirits  of  the 
departed,  and  with  living  fellowmen  of  all  kinds. 
This  way  is  at  the  same  time  truly  human  and  truly 
divine,  and  widely  different  from  the  ecclesiastical 
supernaturalism  that  prevailed  in  medieval  times. 

The  new  Confession,  by  its  silences  and  its  afi&rma- 
tions,  protests  against  Eliotts  naturalism  and  the 
traditional  supernaturalism.  It  affirms  the  supremacy 
of  the  Spirit  of  God  through  Christ  in  man, — a  law  of 
Christ,  a  way  of  the  Christian  life,  which  does  not 
contradict  the  order  of  nature,  but  supersedes  and 
transcends  it,  and  which  cannot  be  brought  within 
the  range  of  what  is  called  “natural  law.’’ 

In  the  article  on  Providence  attention  is  at  once 
arrested  by  the  distinctively  modern  clause,  “in  face 
of  the  mysteries  of  an  unfinished  world.”  Here  is  a 
new  view  of  creation,  of  a  world  in  process  and  a  God 
at  work,  instead  of  a  world  finished  and  a  God  at  rest. 
It  is  the  genetic,  in  place  of  the  static,  conception  of 
the  universe.  The  Westminster  Confession  occupies 
a  wholly  different  point  of  view  when  it  says: 

It  pleased  God  the  Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Ghost,  ...  to 
create,  or  make  of  nothing,  the  world,  and  all  things  therein, 
whether  visible  or  invisible,  in  the  space  of  six  days,  and 
all  very  good  (Chap.  IV.  1). 

Observe  the  time  limit  of  creation,  and  also  the 
goodness  or  completeness  of  everything  that  was 


A  CREDIBLE  CREED 


317 


created.  The  difficulties  which  the  Westminster  Con¬ 
fession  raises  for  the  modern  man — yea,  for  boys  and 
girls  of  our  High  Schools  who  are  taught  the  sciences — 
are  not  raised  by  a  flat  recognition  of  ‘^the  mysteries 
of  an  unfinished  world.”  Yet  the  great  fact  of  divine 
providence,  the  heart  of  religion  and  especially  of 
Christianity,  is  maintained  in  indubitable  language 
that  ought  to  satisfy  the  faith  of  Christians  every¬ 
where.  We  are  told  that  “God  orders  all  things  for 
perfectly  wise  and  loving  ends”;  that  “He  has  every 
human  life  in  His  gracious  and  holy  keeping”;  and 
that  “He  will  never  forsake  the  work  of  His  own 
hands.” 

The  purpose,  or  controlling  motive,  of  providence, 
also,  differs  from  the  position  of  the  Westminster 
Confession,  which  says  that  “God,  the  creator  of  all 
things,  doth  uphold,  direct,  ...  to  the  praise  of  the 
glory  of  his  wisdom,  power,  justice,  goodness,  and 
mercy.”  God’s  glory  is  the  supreme  motive  of  his 
providence.  The  new  Statement  is  silent  about  his 
glory:  it  speaks  only  of  God  ordering  “all  things  for 
perfectly  wise  and  loving  ends.”  What  those  “ends” 
are,  is  implied  in  the  clause,  “that  He  has  every 
human  life  in  His  gracious  and  holy  keeping,  and  will 
never  forsake  the  work  of  His  own  hands.”  Even  the 
sins  of  men  and  their  consequences,  he  will  overrule 
“for  the  furtherance  of  His  supreme  designs  of  good.” 

One  can  with  difficulty  reconcile  such  affirmations 
about  God’s  care  for  “every  human  life”  with  the 
Westminster  Confession,  Chapter  III.  3,  4,  5,  which 
says: 

By  the  decree  of  God,  for  the  manifestation  of  his  glory, 
some  men  and  angels  are  predestinated  unto  everlasting 
life,  and  others  foreordained  to  everlasting  death.  .  .  .  Those 


318  CHRISTIAN  WAYS  OF  SALVATION 

of  mankind  that  are  predestinated  unto  life,  God,  before  the 
foundation  of  the  world  was  laid,  according  to  his  eternal 
and  immutable  purpose,  and  the  secret  counsel  and  good 
pleasure  of  his  will,  hath  chosen  in  Christ,  unto  everlasting 
glory. 

Here  the  motive  and  scope  of  God’s  providence  are 
defined  from  wholly  different  premises:  even  the 
character  and  disposition  of  God  seem  to  be  different. 
The  Christian  of  to-day  doubtless  will  look  with  favor 
upon  the  Fifth  Article  of  the  new  Creed,  the  more  he 
compares  it  with  the  Third,  Fourth,  and  Fifth  Chap¬ 
ters  of  the  Westminster  Confession. 

Turning  to  Mr.  Eliot’s  ^The  Religion  of  the  Future,” 
we  find  positive  affirmations  of  belief  in  divine  provi¬ 
dence.  He  recognizes  that  there  is  an  ^finfinite  Spirit 
immanent  in  the  universe”;  that  ‘The  soul  of  the 
universe  finds  its  perfect  bliss  and  efficiency  in  supreme 
and  universal  love  and  service”;  that  there  “is  evi¬ 
dence  in  the  moral  history  of  the  human  race  that  a 
loving  God  rules  the  universe” ;  and  that  “trust  in  this 
supreme  rule  is  genuine  consolation  and  support  under 
many  human  trials  and  sufferings.”  The  difference 
between  this  view  of  providence  and  that  of  the  new 
Confession  is  in  the  presuppositions  from  which  the 
two  views  proceed.  The  view  of  Mr.  Eliot  is  based 
wholly  on  “an  infinite  Spirit  immanent  in  the  uni¬ 
verse”  and  on  the  “evidence  in  the  moral  history  of  the 
human  race  that  a  loving  God  rules  the  universe.” 
Those  are  the  bases  generally  recognized  by  the  easy¬ 
going  optimism  of  rationalism.  There  is  a  marked 
silence  about  the  revelation  in  Jesus  of  a  Christlike 
God,  the  heavenly  Father,  feeding  the  birds,  clothing 
the  lilies,  counting  the  hairs  of  the  head.  All  this 
may  be  considered  merely  a  picturesque  way  of  ex- 


A  CREDIBLE  CREED 


319 


pressing  one’s  faith  in  the  goodness  of  an  “infinite 
Spirit  immanent  in  the  universe”:  but  the  faith  in 
providence  of  Christian  men  and  women  in  all  ages 
was  based  on  the  revelation  of  God  in  Jesus,  the  assur¬ 
ances  of  his  word;  and  not  upon  philosophic  ideas  of 
divine  immanence,  though  defined  in  ethical  terms. 

One  of  the  most  distinctive  features  of  the  new  Con¬ 
fession  is  the  article  on  The  Kingdom  of  God  and  its 
relation  to  the  article  on  The  Church.  Hitherto, 
Catholic  and  Protestant  creeds  and  confessions  con¬ 
sidered  the  Kingdom  and  the  Church  under  one  head¬ 
ing,  identifying  the  two.  The  Westminster  Confes¬ 
sion  (Chapter  25:2)  speaks  of  the  “visible  Church” 
...  as  “the  kingdom  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.”  On 
this  point  it  is  in  agreement  with  all  earlier  confes¬ 
sions.  The  new  Statement,  however,  is  true  to  the 
comparatively  recent  conception  of  the  relation  of  the 
Kingdom  and  the  Church. 

God’s  “unchangeable  purpose”  is  “the  establishing 
and  perfecting  of  His  Kingdom,”  which  is  “a  society 
ruled  in  all  its  parts  by  love  and  righteousness,  a  so¬ 
ciety  of  which  Christ  is  king.”  The  condition  for 
membership  in  this  society  is,  to  be  “animated  by  His 
Spirit.”  Furthermore,  the  Kingdom  is  declared  to  be 
“already  among  us,”  and  yet  here  only  in  its  beginnings. 
The  task  of  the  Christian  is  “to  advance  it,”  and  that 
involves  the  bringing  of  “every  relation  of  human 
life  under  the  dominion  of  Christ.”  Yea,  “the  King¬ 
dom  of  God  will  finally  dominate  the  life  of  man.” 
It  is  not  complete  and  perfect  here  and  now,  and  may 
never  be ;  but  “in  the  world  to  come  God  will  complete 
and  perfect  it.” 

What  is  the  Church,  and  what  is  its  mission?  The 
Church  is  '^a  fellowship  of  faith  and  love”  gathered 


320 


CHRISTIAN  WAYS  OF  SALVATION 


round  him  by  Jesus  Christ.  The  condition  for  mem¬ 
bership  in  the  visible  Church  is  faith  in  God  'Through 
Him.''  It  is  God's  will  that  those  who  are  members 
of  the  Church  are  to  become,  "through  their  common 
life  of  worship  and  service,"  like  him  in  faith,  hope, 
and  love;  but  far  more,  they  are  to  "further  the  ends 
of  His  Kingdom,  proclaim  His  Gospel  to  all  mankind, 
and  be  His  fellow-workers  in  combating  ignorance, 
pride  and  covetousness,  vice  and  disease,  and  every 
social  injustice  and  public  wrong."  We  suggest  that 
this  concluding  sentence  of  the  first  paragraph  of  the 
Seventh  Article  be  changed  so  as  to  read,  "and  be  His 
fellow- workers  in  promoting  knowledge,  humility, 
charity,  virtue,  and  health,  and  every  form  of  social 
justice  and  right." 

Thank  God  for  such  a  statement  in  a  confession! 
perhaps  the  first  of  its  kind  in  the  history  of  creeds. 
It  is  a  call  not  merely  to  salvation,  but  to  enlistment 
in  the  service  of  Christ  for  the  propagation  of  the 
gospel  and  for  a  holy  crusade  against  "ignorance,  pride, 
and  covetousness,  vice  and  disease,  and  every  social 
injustice  and  public  wrong."  This  is  an  entirely  new 
conception  of  the  mission  of  the  Church:  its  end  is 
not  in  itself,  but  in  something  beyond  it, — in  the  reign 
of  "love  and  righteousness,  a  society  of  which  Jesus 
is  King." 

Compare  these  ideas  of  the  Church  and  the  Kingdom 
with  the  statements  about  the  Church  in  the  West¬ 
minster  Confession  (Chapters  25  and  26),  and  you 
cannot  help  but  feel  the  difference  of  atmosphere  of 
the  seventeenth  and  the  twentieth  century  Christians. 

Unto  this  catholic  visible  Church  [say  the  Westminster 
Fathers]  Christ  hath  given  the  ministry,  oracles,  and  ordi¬ 
nances  of  God,  for  the  gathering  and  perfecting  of  the 


A  CREDIBLE  CREED 


321 


saints,  in  this  life,  to  the  end  of  the  world;  and  doth  by  his 
own  presence  and  Spirit,  according  to  his  promise,  make 
them  effectual  thereunto. 

In  the  Chapter,  Of  the  Communion  of  Saints,  the 
task  set  for  the  members  of  the  Church  is  defined  in 
these  words: 

And,  being  united  to  one  another  in  love,  they  have  com¬ 
munion  in  each  other’s  gifts  and  grace;  and  are  obliged  to 
the  performance  of  such  duties,  public  and  private,  as  do 
conduce  to  their  mutual  good,  both  in  the  inward  and  out¬ 
ward  man.  Saints,  by  profession,  are  bound  to  maintain 
an  holy  fellowship  and  communion,  in  the  worship  of  God, 
and  in  performing  such  other  spiritual  services  as  tend  to 
their  mutual  edification;  as  also  in  relieving  each  other  in 
outward  things;  according  to  their  several  abilities  and 
necessities. 

According  to  these  definitions,  the  primary  purpose 
of  the  ‘^catholic  visible  Church”  is  ^^the  gathering  and 
perfecting  of  the  saints,  in  this  life,  to  the  end  of 
the  world”;  and  this  is  to  be  accomplished  through 
^^the  ministry,  oracles,  and  ordinances  of  God”  which 
Christ  hath  given  to  the  Church.  Once  the  saints  are 
in  the  Church,  they  are  obliged  to  help  one  another, 
i.e.,  to  perform  ^^such  duties,  public  and  private,  as  do 
conduce  to  their  mutual  good,  both  in  the  inward  and 
outward  man,  ...  to  maintain  an  holy  fellowship 
and  communion,  in  the  worship  of  God,  and  in  per¬ 
forming  such  other  spiritual  services  as  tend  to  their 
mutual  edification;  as  also  in  relieving  each  other  in 
outward  things,  according  to  their  several  abilities 
and  necessities.”  Not  a  word  is  said  about  missions, 
or  about  bringing  ^^every  relation  of  human  life  under 
the  dominion  of  Christ.”  All  that  the  Westminster 
Confession  requires,  is  that  the  saints  care  for  them- 


322 


CHRISTIAN  WAYS  OF  SALVATION 


selves  and  for  one  another:  about  ^^all  mankind/^  and 
about  the  Kingdom  of  God  dominating  ^The  life  of 
man”  as  a  whole,  there  is  not  the  faintest  trace  of 
thought  or  concern.  The  scope  of  the  Church  accord¬ 
ing  to  the  Westminster  Confession  is  necessarily  de¬ 
fined  in  the  light  of  Chapter  III. — Of  God’s  Eternal 
Decree,  which  says: 

By  the  decree  of  God,  for  the  manifestation  of  his  glory, 
some  men  and  angels  are  predestinated  unto  everlasting  life, 
and  others  foreordained  to  everlasting  death. 

Of  course,  the  Church,  which  is  the  community  of 
the  elect,  must  limit  itself  to  saving  and  sanctifying 
only  those  who  ^^are  predestinated  unto  everlasting 
life.”  Why  waste  time  and  energy  on  those  whom 
God  himself  has  forsaken  and  ^Foreordained  to  ever¬ 
lasting  death”?  From  such  premises  no  one  can  con¬ 
sistently  hold  the  view  of  the  Kingdom  of  God  defined 
in  the  new  Confession. 

The  view  of  the  Kingdom  and  the  Church  in  the 
new  Statement  is  no  more — and  in  many  respects 
less — in  harmony  with  the  socialism  of  to-day  than 
with  the  individualism  of  the  Westminster  Confession. 
There  are,  of  course,  so-called  Christian  socialists,  but 
these  are  usually  ignored  by  the  orthodox  socialists 
and  are  often  suspected  by  the  organized  Christians, — 
too  Christian  for  the  one,  and  too  socialistic  for  the 
other.  The  typical  socialist  of  the  Marxian  or  Bol¬ 
shevistic  type  reduces  the  idea  of  the  Kingdom  to  a 
temporal  order,  in  which  justice  is  to  prevail,  which 
is  to  be  attained  by  legal  and  economic  means, 
in  which  egoism  is  supreme  and  religion  is  ignored  or 
denounced.  The  idea  of  the  regeneration  of  the  in¬ 
dividual  by  the  Spirit  of  God  through  Christ,  and  of 


A  CREDIBLE  CREED 


323 


the  Church  as  the  medium  through  which  the  King¬ 
dom  is  to  be  realized,  is  foreign  to  the  thought  of  the 
consistent  socialist;  and,  if  proposed,  he  will  give  it 
scant  attention.  He  would  not  be  prepared  to  say, 
in  the  words  of  the  Confession,  ‘‘We  believe  that  the 
Kingdom  of  God  is  already  among  us,  and  that  the 
appointed  task  of  all  good  men  is  to  advance  it,  and 
to  bring  every  relation  of  human  life  under  dominion 
of  Christ.^^  What  is  there  in  common  between  Trotzky 
and  Jesus? 

The  decisive  test  of  a  confession  is  its  doctrine  of 
sin  and  salvation.  On  these  points  the  Statement  is 
decidedly  evangelical.  It  affirms  the  fact  and  the  de¬ 
vastation  of  sin  without  defining  a  theory  of  its  origin, 
save  for  the  declaration,  “that  the  sin  of  man  was 
no  part  of  the  purpose  of  God.’^  It  announces  the 
sinfulness  of  all,  and  each  one’s  guilt  “of  wiUful  and 
repeated  sin.”  The  effect  of  sin  is  separation  of  men 
from  God,  and  his  condemnation  and  punishment. 
Deliverance  comes  not  by  “any  good  works  or  holiness 
on  our  part,  as  though  we  could  deserve  so  great  salva¬ 
tion,  but  only  and  altogether  because  of  his  infinite 
mercy,  freely  granted  to  all  who  repent  and  turn  from 
their  sins,  and  accept  Jesus  Christ  as  their  Savior  and 
Lord.”  The  significance  of  the  cross  is  defined  in 
words  like  these,  “that  in  the  death  of  the  Cross  He 
has  shown  us  the  malignity  of  sin  and  His  antagonism 
thereto,  but,  above  all.  His  love  in  putting  away  sin 
by  the  sacrifice  of  Himself.”  But  in  the  cross  we 
are  not  only  to  find  “the  assurance  of  God’s  forgiving 
grace,”  but  to  “learn  that  His  holy  love  can  only  be 
satisfied  with  a  holy  life  in  those  whom  He  forgives.” 
In  these  statements  the  confession  rings  true  to  the 
evangelical  idea  of  sin  and  salvation,  and  yet  differs 


324 


CHRISTIAN  WAYS  OF  SALVATION 


in  many  respects  from  the  doctrine  in  the  earlier 
Protestant  confessions. 

As  an  example  of  these,  we  shall  cite  again  from 
the  Westminster  Confession,  Chapter  VI. — 

Our  first  parents,  being  seduced  by  the  subtilty  and 
temptation  of  Satan,  sinned  in  eating  the  forbidden  fruit. 
This  their  sin  God  was  pleased,  according  to  his  wise  and 
holy  counsel,  to  permit,  having  purposed  to  order  it  to  his 
own  glory. 

For  this  theory  of  the  origin  and  purpose  of  sin 
the  new  confession  has  only  a  single  clause, — “that  the 
sin  of  man  was  no  part  of  the  purpose  of  God.”  Not 
a  word  is  said  about  “our  first  parents,”  about  the 
“subtilty  and  temptation  of  Satan,”  about  “eating  the 
forbidden  fruit,”  about  God  permitting  sin  and  order¬ 
ing  it  “to  his  own  glory.” 

In  describing  the  work  of  redemption  the  West¬ 
minster  Confession  is  far  more  explicit  than  the  new 
Statement.  The  former  assures  us  (Chapter  VIII.  5) 
that — 

The  Lord  Jesus,  by  his  perfect  obedience  and  sacrifice  of 
himself,  .  .  .  hath  fully  satisfied  the  justice  of  his  Father, 
and  purchased  not  only  reconciliation,  but  an  everlasting 
inheritance  in  the  kingdom  of  heaven,  for  all  those  whom 
the  Father  hath  given  unto  him. 

Of  course,  the  redemption  of  Christ  becomes  effec¬ 
tual  only  in  “all  those  whom  God  hath  predestinated 
unto  life” ;  “others,  not  elected,  although  they  may  be 
called  by  the  ministry  of  the  Word,  and  may  have 
some  common  operations  of  the  Spirit,  yet  they  never 
truly  come  to  Christ,  and  therefore  cannot  be  saved.” 

The  new  Confession  says  nothing  about  the  elect 


A  CREDIBLE  CREED 


325 


and  the  non-elect,  about  effectual  calling,  justification, 
adoption,  sanctification,  and  the  perseverance  of  the 
saints.  “Sonship  and  peace  with  God”  are  freely 
offered  to  all  men,  and  the  only  condition  for  their 
enjoyment  is  repentance  and  acceptance  of  Jesus 
Christ  as  Savior  and  Lord.”  Doubtless  many  questions 
may  be  raised  by  sinner  and  saint,  some  of  which  the 
Fathers  tried  to  answer  in  the  Westminster  Standards 
and  which  the  new  Confession  does  not  even  mention  ; 
but  these  are  for  the  philosophers  and  the  theologians, 
not  for  a  confession  of  faith. 

The  new  Statement  is  far  removed  from  all  forms 
of  rationalism;  which  resolves  sin  into  error,  imper¬ 
fection  or  transgression  of  law  instead  of  into  an 
offense  against  God  as  revealed  in  Christ,  and  offers 
salvation  by  moral  effort,  intellectual  culture,  or 
natural  evolution.  These  ideas  have  been  held  by 
Christian  minorities  from  the  days  of  Jewish  Christians 
to  modern  humanists.  The  Confession  before  us  can 
never  be  reduced  to  that  level.  Sin  and  salvation  are 
defined  not  merely  in  terms  of  human  experience,  but 
in  terms  of  Christ,  in  terms  of  his  forgiveness,  based 
upon  his  infinite  mercy,  and  of  his  sacrifice  on  the 
cross.  Only  those  who  accept  the  mercy  of  God  have 
life  eternal  and  will  attain  ^^perfect  holiness  and 
blessedness.” 

Space  will  not  permit  me  to  consider  the  article  on 
the  Holy  Scriptures,  which  is  so  felicitously  phrased 
and  in  every  way  so  true  to  the  best  results  of  Chris¬ 
tian  experience  and  modern  scholarship.  We  venture, 
however,  to  suggest  a  change  in  the  last  sentence  of 
Article  III.  which  stands  as  follows:  ^We  believe 
that  through  these  Sacraments — Baptism  and  the 
Lord^s  Supper — received  with  faith,  there  are  conveyed 


326 


CHRISTIAN  WAYS  OF  SALVATION 


to  men  the  blessings  of  salvation/^  In  place  of  the 
words  ^^are  conveyed/’  we  propose  the  words  “signified 
and  sealed/’  for  we  believe  these  would  be  truer  to  the 
spirit  of  the  Confession  as  a  whole  and  to  the  evangeli¬ 
cal  idea  of  the  Sacraments. 

One  will  naturally  compare  this  document  with  the 
Lambeth  report  on  Christian  Unity.  Both  are  recent, 
and  yet  they  differ  so  widely  in  content  and  in  their 
immediate  purpose  that  a  comparison  is  hardly  pos¬ 
sible.  Yet,  when  it  comes  to  a  judgment  of  value  for 
promoting  Christian  unity,  the  writer  places  the  Con¬ 
fession  far  above  the  Lambeth  Appeal.  In  the  Con¬ 
fession  one  finds  the  results  of  generations  of  intel¬ 
lectual  and  spiritual  struggles  for  reconciliation  of  the 
eternal  truths  of  the  gospel  with  the  accredited  re¬ 
sults  of  scientific  and  philosophic  investigation  and 
thought.  It  is  a  far  cry,  indeed,  from  the  Westminster 
Assembly  (1647)  to  the  General  Assembly  of  the 
United  Free  Church  of  Scotland  (1921).  There  is  a 
difference  not  merely  in  years,  but  in  Christian  ex¬ 
perience  and  thought; — a  difference  that  is  being  felt 
more  and  more  by  Christians  in  all  lands.  In  this 
Confession  the  difference  is  clearly  stated,  and  yet  the 
essence  and  continuity  of  a  truly  catholic  and 
evangelical  Christianity  are  preserved.  On  the  other 
hand,  the  Lambeth  Appeal  in  its  doctrinal  position  is 
static,  if  not  reactionary.  It  builds  its  hopes  for  the 
union  of  the  churches  on  the  Nicene  Creed:  it  looks 
backward.  It  shrinks  from  so  positive  and  modern  an 
utterance  as  has  been  commended  by  the  General 
Assembly  of  the  United  Free  Church.  It  pleads  for 
an  institution  that  may  be  venerable  enough  indeed, — 
I  refer  to  apostolic  succession, — but  that  ought  not 
to  be  made  an  indispensable  condition  for  the  union 


A  CREDIBLE  CREED 


327 


of  churches.  It  is  our  conviction  that  the  way  to 
closer  fellowship  requires  more  than  a  loyal  adherence 
to  past  institutions;  it  needs  a  constructive  interpre¬ 
tation  ^^of  the  great  Christian  certainties  and  of  the 
Christian  ideal  of  human  life,”  such  as  is  attempted  in 
this  Brief  Statement  of  the  Churches  Faith. 


INDEX 


Acts  oj  Thomas,  121. 

Aeschylus,  10,  43. 

Alexander  the  Great,  270. 
Amelioration,  13f,  22,  25. 
American  Indians,  5. 

Ames,  E.  S.,  6,  7. 

Amiel,  224. 

Amos,  61. 

Animism,  6. 

Anselm,  136f. 

Apocalypticism,  66f,  73-74,  84,  88- 
89,  105f. 

Arahatship,  37,  38. 

Aristophanes,  44. 

Aristotle,  28. 

Arius,  231-233. 

Arnold,  Matthew,  27,  209. 
Asceticism,  29,  46,  51,  131. 
Athanasius,  1^,  231f. 

Atlantic  Monthly,  40,  259. 
Atman,  8,  29ff. 

Augsburg  Confession,  186,  188, 
246. 

Augustine,  135, 144, 149,  151 f,  185, 
233f. 

Bacon,  B.  W.,  85,  114f. 

Baptism,  93,  110,  119,  132,  140, 
156,  160,  163f,  186,  325. 

Bartlett  and  Carlyle,  “Christian¬ 
ity  in  History,”  94,  113,  i25, 
135. 

Beal,  S.,  33. 

Bellarmine,  154. 

Besz,  Prof.,  204. 

Bible,  the,  191,  199,  211f,  216, 
244,  281-283,  299,  325f. 

Body  and  Soul,  45,  130f. 

Bousset,  208. 

Boutroux,  E.,  264. 

Brahmanism,  26,  29,  30-32,  34,  40. 


Browning,  R.,  263,  294. 

Buddha,  33f ;  his  “Sermon  on  the 
Mount,”  35f;  and  Jesus,  41, 
274. 

Buddhism,  16,  19,  26,  29,  32-42; 
and  Christianity,  42,  273-275. 

Bury,  J.  B.,  222. 

Cabell,  J.  B.,  263. 

Calvin,  179,  203-208,  246. 

Case,  S.  J.,  13,  20. 

Catechism,  Roman,  168;  Council 
of  Trent,  168;  Luther’s  ^mall, 
183;  Racovian,  243f,  247f; 
Heidelberg,  136,  246,  248,  250j 
Westminster,  304. 

Catholicizing  of  Protestantism, 
210-214,  219. 

Catholicism,  Ancient,  116-137, 
230f;  Orthodox,  135,  138-147; 
Roman,  135f,  142ff,  148-175. 

Chantepie  de  la  Saussaye,  29,  30. 

Church,  the,  86,  109,  117f,  127ff, 
134,  153-155,  168f,  188f,  199f, 
206,  212f,  249f,  276f,  298,  319- 
322. 

Church  Union,  see  Denomina- 
tionalism. 

Confucianism,  19,  33. 

Constructive  Quarterly,  106,  140£f. 

Creeds,  129,  283f,  305;  A  Cred¬ 
ible  Creed,  296-327. 

Cross,  Prof.,  290. 

Cynics,  25. 

Davidson,  A.  D.,  62. 

Decretum  horrible,  204. 

Delphic  motto,  43. 

Denney,  Jas.,  194,  286. 

Denominationalism,  179,  213f, 

216,  287f,  326f. 


330 


INDEX 


Deussen,  P,,  29,  30. 

Dhamma  Pada,  39. 

Dickinson,  G.  L.,  7. 

Didache,  120. 

Diogenes,  47. 

Dionysus,  20,  46. 

Dods,  M.,  41. 

Domer,  J.  A.,  215,  241. 

Ecclesiasticism,  64,  117,  150,  215. 
‘‘Eightfold  Path”  of  Buddhism, 
37 

Eliot,  C.  W.,  306,  308f,  312,  315f, 
318 

Ellwood,  C.  A.,  3,  5,  7,  265,  289. 
Emerson,  R.  W.,  315. 

Emerton,  E..  315. 

Emery,  H.  C.,  264. 

Empedocles,  45. 

Epicureans,  25. 

Erasmus,  199,  209,  235;  and 
Luther,  237-239. 

Eucharist,  see  Lord’s  Supper. 
Eucken,  R.,  262f,  264,  265,  279. 
Euripides,  47,  224. 

Fairbairn,  A.  M.,  251. 

Faith,  83,  87,  94,  108f,  111,  121f, 
129,  167-170,  184f,  195,  202,  207, 
211,  214,  244,  246,  294f. 
Farnell,  20,  44-45,  132. 

Fausbdll,  39. 

Feuerbach,  5. 

Ford,  Henry,  260. 

“Formula  of  Concord,”  214. 
Fosdick,  H.  E.,  27. 

Fourth  Gospel,  107,  111-114,  120 
Frazer,  J.  G.,  18. 

Froude,  J.  A.,  239. 

Future  life,  15,  19-20,  30,  37,  40, 
43,  46,  48,  51,  80f,  123£f,  301. 

Gasquet,  F.  A.,  177. 
Glubokovsky,  Prof.,  140f,  146. 
God,  8,  9,  122,  125,  148f,  182,  194, 
201,  and  passim;  character  of, 
87,  305-310;  his  providence, 
317-319. 

Goebel,  M.,  200,  215. 

Gompers,  Samuel,  260. 
Goodspeed,  G.  S.,  63,  65. 


Grace,  99,  162f,  183f,  191. 

Greek  religion,  7,  12,  14,  42-53, 
125-127. 

Giinsburg,  Eberlin  von,  210. 

Guyau,  5. 

Gwatkin,  H.  M.,  150. 

Hall,  T.  C.,  189. 

Harnack,  A.,  72,  89-90,  96-97,  116- 
117,  119,  122,  146f,  164,  171f, 
195,  212,  229,  232,  233,  245,  247, 
249. 

Hayes,  E.  C.,  66. 

Helvetic  Confession,  212. 

Hermas,  119f. 

Herodotus,  19,  43. 

Hesiod,  42. 

Hobbes,  T.,  268. 

Holl,  Karl,  265. 

Holtzmann,  H.  I.,  139. 

Holy  Spirit,  113,  297,  313f. 

Homer,  8,  10,  42,  43. 

]ISos6^  9 

Humanism,  19,  52,  221-225,  268; 
Christian,  2^-254. 

Hutchinson,  Paul,  40. 

Huxley,  T.  H.,  ^2. 

Hymn  to  Demeter,  20. 

Ideal  of  Life,  Barbarian,  268; 
Greek,  18,  224f,  269f ;  Christian, 
271f. 

Ignatius,  133. 

India,  Religions  of,  28-42. 

Irenaeus,  129,  133,  135f,  137,  230f. 

Isaiah,  61,  63. 

Israel,  experience  of  salvation, 
59;  pre-exilic  salvation,  social 
and  political,  59f ;  individual 
salvation,  62f ;  mission  of, 
67-69. 

Jackson,  S.  M.,  198. 

Jesus,  lOf,  41;  and  the  prophets, 
58;  and  John,  70;  his  gospel 
of  the  Kingdom,  71-76;  his 
message  of  repentance,  love, 
and  self-control,  76f;  as  Sa¬ 
viour,  79ff,  85f,  93,  lOlf,  112f, 
232,  248f,  286,  291f,  297,  310- 
312,  314;  his  resurrection,  83f, 
102f,  115;  person  of,  106f. 


INDEX 


331 


Jewish  Christians,  84,  112,  228f. 
Joseph,  Morris,  18. 

Judaism,  19. 

Justification,  157-160,  167,  185-187, 
205,  207,  245f. 

Kant,  E.,  5. 

Karma,  32,  35,  36. 

Kilpatrick,  T.  B.,  14,  15,  63,  67- 
68,  74,  123,  134,  139,  148,  152, 
163  291. 

Kingdom  of  God,  the,  71-76,  80, 
89,  95,  275,  298,  319,  322. 
Kostlin,  182. 

Lake,  Kirsopp,  104,  112. 

Lambeth  Appeal,  326. 

Lang,  Prof.,  205. 

Legge,  J.,  10. 

Lindsay,  T.  M.,  241. 

Logos,  126f,  134,  231 ;  see  also 
Fourth  Gospel. 

Loisy,  A.  F.,  72-73. 

Loofs,  F.,  196,  214. 

Lord’s  Supper,  94,  110,  121,  132f, 
139,  165,  192,  206f,  325. 

Luther,  152,  162,  174f,  176,  178- 
195;  and  Zwingli,  196-203,  and 
Erasmus,  237-239,  and  Socinus, 
241-252. 

Maccabees,  First  Book  of,  270. 
Machem,  J.  G.,  219. 

McGiffert,  A.  C.,  192,  239. 
Magic,  22-24. 

Maha  Vagga,  38. 

Mana,  6. 

Marcion,  146. 

Marett,  R.  R.,  23. 

Martyr,  Justin,  132f. 

Maspero,  G.  C.  C.,  18. 

Mass,  the,  166. 

Micah,  9. 

Mill,  J.  S.,  268. 

Mohler,  J.  A.,  154,  156. 
Moller-Kawerau,  214. 
Monotheism,  8. 

Moore,  G.  F.,  33,  43,  45-46. 

Moses,  59. 

Mowinckel,  7. 

Muller,  Max,  5,  40. 


Murray,  G.,  3,  16-17,  49,  131,  267. 
Mysteries,  the,  19f,  44-48,  121, 
131f. 

Neander,  A.,  134. 

Nietzsche,  F.,  266,  270. 

Nirvana,  37,  38,  39,  41,  273. 

Oehler,  G.  F.,  185. 

Oldenburg,  34. 

Olympic  religion,  43. 

Origen,  135. 

Orphic  cult,  44-48. 

Parseeism,  16. 

Paul,  26,  57,  91,  96-111,  119,  121, 
228f,  282. 

Paulsen,  F.,  50,  269. 

Pelagius,  233. 

Pessimism,  26f,  36,  41,  51,  68,  92, 
131,  144f,  261f,  265f. 

Peter,  83,  91,  96,  114. 

Pfieiderer,  0.,  51,  128. 

Philips,  154f. 

Philosophy,  29,  49ff,  235,  270,  280, 
288,  292,  309. 

Pindar,  43. 

Plato,  26f,  45f,  48,  49-53,  131,  273f. 
Pratt,  J.  B.,  6,  23,  33. 
Predestination,  204f,  207,  324f. 
Presbyterian,  The,  211,  219. 
Presbyterian  Church,  General  As¬ 
sembly  of,  217-219. 

Prophets,  the  Hebrew,  60-62. 
Protagoras,  221. 

Rainy,  R.,  150. 

Rationalism,  284f,  314-316,  325. 
Redemption,  religions  of,  14,  16f, 
19-21  25-53. 

Reformers,  the,  208f,  236f,  250f, 
278f,  285f. 

Reitzenstein,  253f. 

Religion,  stages  of,  3-11,  53;  defi¬ 
nitions  of,  5;  international,  16, 
41. 

Renan,  E.,  10. 

Rhys-Davids,  8,  36. 

Rig-Veda,  8,  30. 

Rinn  und  Jiingst,  ‘‘Dogmenge- 
schichtliche  Lesebuch,”  184, 
186,  187. 


332 


INDEX 


Rippel,  166. 

Ritschl,  A.,  245,  252. 
Rituale  Romanum,  165. 
Rohde,  E.,  44. 

Ross,  Prof.,  280. 

Russell,  Bertrand,  27,  265f. 


Salvation,  conceptions  of,  12-17; 
ways  of,  how  determined,  17- 
18,  267 ;  mediators  of,  69,  267 ; 
humanistic  vs.  evangelical  con¬ 
ception  of,  226-229,  236,  277f; 
pagan  and  Christian  ways  con¬ 
trasted,  272-275;  factors  of, 
276-280. 

Sannyasa,  32. 

Sarpi,  Paoli,  176. 

Sayce,  A.  H.,  9. 

Schafif,  P.,  176. 

Schleiermacher,  5,  169. 

Schopenhauer,  362. 

Science,  modern,  258f;  and  re¬ 
ligion,  Ilf,  220,  265,  280,  288- 
291,  292f,  309. 

Scott,  E.  F.,  75. 

Scriptures,  see  Bible. 

Second  coming,  the,  66,  84,  90, 
105,  113,  216. 

Seneca,  53. 

Serapis,  8,  10. 

Sin,  68,  78,  100,  125f,  151,  260, 
274,  278,  299f,  323f. 

Simeon,  69. 

Simpson,  Prof.,  142. 

Socialism,  322f. 

Socinus,  240,  284;  and  Luther, 
241-252. 

Socrates,  33,  225. 

Solon  and  Croesus,  269. 

Solovyof,  V.,  272. 

Sophocles,  20,  43. 

Staehelin,  R.,  179. 

Stephen,  91,  97,  104. 

Stoicism,  19,  25,  52. 


Suttas,  39. 

Synod  of  Dort,  215. 

Tennyson,  A.,  289. 

Tertullian,  129,  135,  150. 

Teutons,  14f. 

Theophilus,  130. 

Thomas  Aquinas,  193. 

Tiele,  C.  P.,  6,  23,  29,  45. 
Trent,  Council  of,  153f,  156, 
157-161,  163-167,  169f. 
Troeltsch,  E.,  265,  293. 
Tschackert,  P.,  191,  212,  214f. 
Turkevich,  L.,  140,  142. 

Tylor,  E.  B.,  4,  5. 

Unitarians,  241,  252-254,  312. 
United  Free  Church  of  Scotland, 
296ff. 

Upanishads,  8,  29. 

Vatican  Council,  167,  168,  169. 
Vaughan,  155. 

Vedanta,  29,  30. 

Vedas,  14,  29. 

Vollmer,  176. 

Walker,  268. 

Weinel,  H.,  73,  131. 

Weizsacker,  96. 

Wellhausen,  J.,  104. 

Wells,  H.  G.,  15. 

Wernle,  P.,  66,  80,  85,  110,  128f, 
134. 

Westminster  Confession,  211,  215, 
219f.,  301,  306-308,  311-313, 
316-318,  320-322. 

Worship,  11,  17-18,  94,  189. 

Yahweh,  8. 

Yoga,  32. 

Zickendraht,  209,  210,  282,  285. 
Ziegler,  214. 

Zwingli,  179,  192,  196-203. 


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